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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/01/tories-urged-to-get-behind-theresa-may-as-division-lines-deepen
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| Tories urged to get behind May as party rivals go on offensive | Tories urged to get behind May as party rivals go on offensive |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Ruth Davidson has urged her warring party to “get behind the prime minister” as senior Conservatives sought to shore up Theresa May’s authority before a highly anticipated speech from the would-be party leader Boris Johnson. | Ruth Davidson has urged her warring party to “get behind the prime minister” as senior Conservatives sought to shore up Theresa May’s authority before a highly anticipated speech from the would-be party leader Boris Johnson. |
| The Scottish Tory leader’s pointed call for unity came as Johnson appeared to mock the prime minister when he was photographed running through a farmer’s field, recreating what Theresa May once described as her naughtiest moment as a child. | The Scottish Tory leader’s pointed call for unity came as Johnson appeared to mock the prime minister when he was photographed running through a farmer’s field, recreating what Theresa May once described as her naughtiest moment as a child. |
| “The last two years have exposed some deep divisions in this country – and in this party. And here’s a safe prediction: in the days and weeks ahead we’re going to hear more of them,” Davidson told delegates in Birmingham. | “The last two years have exposed some deep divisions in this country – and in this party. And here’s a safe prediction: in the days and weeks ahead we’re going to hear more of them,” Davidson told delegates in Birmingham. |
| She urged her colleagues to remember what she called “the principles of country, of duty, of practicality and of delivery – the belief that every prudent act is based on accommodation and accord” and support the prime minister’s “practical, pragmatic and utterly Conservative approach” to Brexit. | She urged her colleagues to remember what she called “the principles of country, of duty, of practicality and of delivery – the belief that every prudent act is based on accommodation and accord” and support the prime minister’s “practical, pragmatic and utterly Conservative approach” to Brexit. |
| Johnson is due to speak to a packed fringe event on Tuesday when he is expected to urge the party to focus on law and order, tax cuts and housebuilding as well as restating his opposition to the May’s Chequers plan. | Johnson is due to speak to a packed fringe event on Tuesday when he is expected to urge the party to focus on law and order, tax cuts and housebuilding as well as restating his opposition to the May’s Chequers plan. |
| Pre-released extracts of Johnson’s speech include an attack on the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn: “It was astonishing that he [Corbyn] had absolutely nothing to say about the wealth-creating sector of the economy – the people who get up at the crack of dawn to prepare their shops the grafter and the grifters, the innovators, the entrepreneurs.” | Pre-released extracts of Johnson’s speech include an attack on the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn: “It was astonishing that he [Corbyn] had absolutely nothing to say about the wealth-creating sector of the economy – the people who get up at the crack of dawn to prepare their shops the grafter and the grifters, the innovators, the entrepreneurs.” |
| Johnson’s leadership manoeuvring has angered many in May’s circle who complain that the former foreign secretary is making it harder for the prime minister to conclude the Brexit negotiations. | Johnson’s leadership manoeuvring has angered many in May’s circle who complain that the former foreign secretary is making it harder for the prime minister to conclude the Brexit negotiations. |
| Johnson may be upstaged by the home secretary, Saijd Javid, who signalled on Monday that he would announce details of the party’s post-Brexit immigration policy in a speech timetabled for noon on Tuesday, an hour before Johnson speaks. | Johnson may be upstaged by the home secretary, Saijd Javid, who signalled on Monday that he would announce details of the party’s post-Brexit immigration policy in a speech timetabled for noon on Tuesday, an hour before Johnson speaks. |
| Javid hinted of a change in policy once free movement from the European Union ends following the conclusion of the transition period in 2021. He told one fringe meeting: “We’ve been an incredibly successful nation for lots of reasons, clearly one of the reasons is our openness … we’ve got to maintain that openness, just in a different way.” | |
| Last Monday, the cabinet met to sign off a new post-Brexit immigration system that would offer visas to immigrants in a tiered system based on skills and wealth, an approach that ministers are expected to unveil at the Birmingham conference. | Last Monday, the cabinet met to sign off a new post-Brexit immigration system that would offer visas to immigrants in a tiered system based on skills and wealth, an approach that ministers are expected to unveil at the Birmingham conference. |
| Skilled workers will more easily be able to obtain visas than the unskilled andthere will be no preferential access to the UK labour market for EU citizens, although final terms are expected to subject of Brexit negotiations. | Skilled workers will more easily be able to obtain visas than the unskilled andthere will be no preferential access to the UK labour market for EU citizens, although final terms are expected to subject of Brexit negotiations. |
| Davidson’s was the latest of a series of carefully worded interventions on Monday from senior Tory figures underlining the practical benefits of the Chequers approach, in a deliberate contrast to what the chancellor called the “sweeping statements” of Johnson. | |
| The business secretary, Greg Clark, delivered his own conference speech from a nearby car factory to underline the importance for manufacturers of preserving frictionless trade. | The business secretary, Greg Clark, delivered his own conference speech from a nearby car factory to underline the importance for manufacturers of preserving frictionless trade. |
| Downing Street hopes Conservative MPs will ultimately decide there is little alternative to throwing their weight behind May’s deal, despite the tumultuous atmosphere in Birmingham. | Downing Street hopes Conservative MPs will ultimately decide there is little alternative to throwing their weight behind May’s deal, despite the tumultuous atmosphere in Birmingham. |
| The former education secretary Nicky Morgan suggested she could back an agreement based on Chequers. “The PM has shown such resilience plodding on with this; she might well just come back with something that we can all live with,” she said. | The former education secretary Nicky Morgan suggested she could back an agreement based on Chequers. “The PM has shown such resilience plodding on with this; she might well just come back with something that we can all live with,” she said. |
| But Morgan said it was important MPs from the Conservatives’ liberal wing stood firm against Jacob Rees-Mogg and his Eurosceptic followers. “This is a battle that has been coming for the party for the last 25 years and we need to have it,” she said. | But Morgan said it was important MPs from the Conservatives’ liberal wing stood firm against Jacob Rees-Mogg and his Eurosceptic followers. “This is a battle that has been coming for the party for the last 25 years and we need to have it,” she said. |
| Many delegates sported “chuck Chequers” badges, and Brexit rebels including Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and David Davis told enthusiastic audiences that the prime minister’s approach must be ditched. | Many delegates sported “chuck Chequers” badges, and Brexit rebels including Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and David Davis told enthusiastic audiences that the prime minister’s approach must be ditched. |
| The former environment secretary Owen Paterson repeatedly told delegates “we are the mainstream” as he slammed May’s plans. | The former environment secretary Owen Paterson repeatedly told delegates “we are the mainstream” as he slammed May’s plans. |
| Earlier in the day, the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, sought to shore up support for Chequers among the party faithful by ramping up the rhetoric against Brussels, accusing the EU27 of showing an inflexible, “theological approach”, to negotiations. | |
| A day after the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, sought to burnish his reputation with Tory activists by warning Brussels not to “turn the EU club into a prison”, Raab accused Britain’s negotiating partners of failing to engage with the prime minister’s proposals. | |
| His tough language followedMay’s defiant statement in the wake of the unsuccessful Salzburg summit, in which she called for “respect” from her interlocutors. | His tough language followedMay’s defiant statement in the wake of the unsuccessful Salzburg summit, in which she called for “respect” from her interlocutors. |
| “Our prime minister has been constructive and respectful,” Raab said. “In return, we heard jibes from senior leaders. And we saw a starkly one-sided approach to negotiation. Where the EU’s theological approach allows no room for serious compromise. And yet we are expected to cast aside the territorial integrity of our own country. If the EU want a deal, they need to get serious.” | “Our prime minister has been constructive and respectful,” Raab said. “In return, we heard jibes from senior leaders. And we saw a starkly one-sided approach to negotiation. Where the EU’s theological approach allows no room for serious compromise. And yet we are expected to cast aside the territorial integrity of our own country. If the EU want a deal, they need to get serious.” |
| Cabinet ministers are keen to demonstrate they are taking a tough stance, at the same time as backing the prime minister’s Chequers proposals, which critics have suggested represent a surrender to the EU27. | Cabinet ministers are keen to demonstrate they are taking a tough stance, at the same time as backing the prime minister’s Chequers proposals, which critics have suggested represent a surrender to the EU27. |
| But Raab’s remarks sparked irritation in Brussels, where an EU source said both sides had to move if the talks were to progress: “In a way the ball is just as much in the UK’s court as the EU’s. We are at a point in the negotiations when neither side can say ‘the ball is in your court’. If the UK doesn’t pick up the ball, we will.” | But Raab’s remarks sparked irritation in Brussels, where an EU source said both sides had to move if the talks were to progress: “In a way the ball is just as much in the UK’s court as the EU’s. We are at a point in the negotiations when neither side can say ‘the ball is in your court’. If the UK doesn’t pick up the ball, we will.” |
| A senior source said the Brexiter campaign to “chuck Chequers”, was driving May to a free-trade agreement with the EU – the Canada-style deal that she had rejected as not good enough. “I can’t see how May the week after [party conference] can say: ‘You wanted to chuck Chequers. Well, we can stay in the customs union and single market.’ I think the dynamics are driving the UK to an FTA rather than an upgraded form of Chequers.” | |
| The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is drafting a non-binding political declaration on the future relationship with the UK. A senior diplomat said “counter-proposal would be “too strong a word” to describe this document, which has been planned for a long time. | The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is drafting a non-binding political declaration on the future relationship with the UK. A senior diplomat said “counter-proposal would be “too strong a word” to describe this document, which has been planned for a long time. |
| Linked to that text, Barnier is drawing up “improved” proposals on the Irish backstop. The backstop is the European commission’s fallback plan to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, but May has said no British prime minister could ever accept Barnier’s version, which would keep Northern Ireland subject to many EU rules. | Linked to that text, Barnier is drawing up “improved” proposals on the Irish backstop. The backstop is the European commission’s fallback plan to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, but May has said no British prime minister could ever accept Barnier’s version, which would keep Northern Ireland subject to many EU rules. |
| Conservative conference 2018 | Conservative conference 2018 |
| Conservative conference | Conservative conference |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| Ruth Davidson | Ruth Davidson |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| Sajid Javid | Sajid Javid |
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