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Boris Johnson slams Chequers 'outrage' in direct pitch to Tory members Boris Johnson slams Chequers 'outrage' in direct pitch to Tory members
(35 minutes later)
Boris Johnson has savaged Theresa May’s Chequers plan, describing it as “dangerous and unstable” and adding that it was “not democracy and it is not what we voted for”. Boris Johnson savaged Theresa May’s Chequers plan on Tuesday as he made a direct pitch to the Tory faithful for his own domestic policy agenda based on traditional “one nation” Conservative values.
He insisted that the Brexiter free trade alternative to Chequers had been built on the prime minister’s own original position set out in her Lancaster House speech last January. He suggested that his fellow Eurosceptics should “back Theresa May in the best way possible” by encouraging her to back a free trade deal instead. The former foreign secretary unleashed a fresh wave of leadership speculation after he blew into the Conservative party conference for just a few hours to rally the party membership behind his Brexit plans.
“This is the moment, there is time, to chuck Chequers,” he told thecrowd. “If we bottle Brexit now believe me the people of this countrywill find it hard to forgive.” He ruled out backing a second referendum and urged the Tories to take the battle directly to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, rather than trying to ape his strategy.
Johnson ruled out backing a second referendum, saying it would be “disastrous” for trust in British politics. “People would see that they would be simply being asked to vote again until they give the answer the remainers want,” he said. In an explosive speech to a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference – watched by leading Brexiters including David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith and Priti Patel – Johnson warned that the only winners from a Chequers-style Brexit would be the far right and far left of British politics.
Earlier, Johnson had addressed claims he was campaigning to become the next leader of the Tory party, congratulating Philip Hammond over remarks that the former foreign secretary would never become prime minister. “If we get it wrong – if we bottle Brexit now – believe me, the people of this country will find it hard to forgive,” he told the 1,500-strong audience.
“It was the first Treasury forecast in a very long time that had a distinct ring of truth about it,” he said. “If we get it wrong, if we proceed with this undemocratic solution, if we remain half-in half-out, we will protract this toxic tedious business that is frankly so offputting to sensible middle of the road people who want us to get on with their priorities.”
He described the prime minister’s Chequers proposals as a “constitutional outrage” while making made a direct pitch for the backing of the Tory party by urging them to have faith in their traditional Conservative values and direct their attacks at Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. Johnson, who quit the cabinet in protest at Chequers, called on his fellow Brexiters to pile pressure on the prime minister to dump her plan and revert to her original Lancaster House proposals, even though it would mean ripping up everything agreed with Brussels so far.
“This is not pragmatic, that is not a compromise. It is dangerous and unstable - politically and economically.” “This is not pragmatic, it is not a compromise. It is dangerous and unstable – politically and economically,” he said. “This is not democracy. This is not what we voted for. This is an outrage. This is not taking back control: this is forfeiting control.…
He won applause as he said: “My fellow Conservatives, this is not democracy. This is not what we voted for. It is a constitutional outrage. This is not taking back control: it is forfeiting control.” “I urge our friends in government to deliver what the people voted for, to back Theresa May in the best way possible, by softly, quietly, and sensibly backing her original plan.”
Johnson said: “If we get this right, it can be win-win for both sides of the Channel. And if we get it wrong, my friends – if we bottle Brexit now – believe me, the people of this country will find it hard to forgive. He rejected as “total fantasy” the idea that it would be possible to “bodge” Brexit now and then negotiate a better deal after leaving in March 2019.
“If we get it wrong now and we proceed with this undemocratic solution, if we remain half-in half-out, we will protract this toxic tedious business that is frankly so offputting to sensible middle-of-the-road people who want us to stop talking about Europe and get on with their domestic priorities.” He also suggested that Chequers would embolden those who wanted a second referendum, which he said would be “disastrous” for trust in British politics. “People would see that they would be simply being asked to vote again until they give the answer the remainers want,” he said.
The former foreign secretary set out his stall as a “one nation” Conservative, attempting to return to the political centre with a slew of domestic policy proposals after a series of recent controversial interventions on Muslims and Brexit. However, the bulk of Johnson’s speech was devoted to setting out his alternative domestic policy vision, amid fears at the highest ranks of the Tory party that it has become so mired in Brexit that the electorate was no longer aware of what it stood for.
His alternative prospectus for the future of the Tory party had at its heart returning power to individuals, expanding housing, a law and order crackdown and cutting taxes as he directly courted members, who get the final say in any future leadership contest. “If I have a function here today,” he told his audience. “It is to try, with all humility, to put some lead in the collective pencil, to stop what seems to me to be a ridiculous seeping away of our self-belief, and to invite you to feel realistic and justified confidence in what we can do.”
“If we rise to the challenge, if we get it right, it’s an open goal,” he told his audience of up to 1,500 activists who queued round the block at the Tory conference to get in. Johnson attempted to return to the political centre with a series of domestic policy proposals after recent remarks about Muslim women resembling letterboxes and Chequers a suicide vest prompted accusations of Islamophobia.
But even before his arrival in Birmingham, Johnson had overshadowed the event, first of all by attacking Theresa May’s Brexit plan as “deranged” and then by appearing to parody the prime minister by being photographed jogging through a field of wheat. His alternative prospectus for the future of the Tory party included tackling the housing crisis, which he described as a “massive opportunity” for the Tories even though it has worsened during the party’s eight years in power.
Leading Tory Brexiters, including David Davis, Preti Patel and Iain Duncan Smith, occupied the front few rows along with Tory and Vote Leave donors including hedge fund billionaire Michael Hintze and political strategist Mark Fullbrook, who is Lynton Crosby’s business partner in the UK.However, a series of senior Tory figures including the chancellor, Philip Hammond, the home secretary, Sajid Javid, and Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson, have been among those who have criticised Johnson over his constant attacks on May’s Brexit plans, and his attempts to overshadow the conference. “If we rise to the challenge, if we get it right, it is an open goal, because this is one of those critical issues where… the facts of life do always turn out to be Conservative.”
He also set out his vision for a low tax, pro-business economy and called for an increase in stop and search, dismissing the reduction of the policing tool – which has been driven by the prime minister amid concerns about the impact on communities – as “politically correct nonsense”.
Johnson urged the Tory party to take its fight to Labour, which was widely regarded to have had a successful party conference last week, saying “surely to goodness we can take this Tony Benn tribute act and wallop it for six”.
He added: “Not by imitating them – not by capering insincerely on Labour turf: we won’t get anywhere by metaphorically acquiring beards and string vests and allotments – but by systematically pointing out the damage they would do.
“Instead of aping Corbyn, we have to take our basic Conservative ideas and fit them to the problems of today.”
Johnson listed his achievements as mayor of London, a reminder to colleagues of his ability to win over a predominantly liberal electorate, and a retort to the chancellor, Philip Hammond, who had suggested his greatest success to date had been the “Boris bike” cycle hire scheme.
He also congratulated Hammond over his view that the former foreign secretary would never become prime minister. “It was the first Treasury forecast in a very long time that had a distinct ring of truth about it,” he said.
But even before his arrival in Birmingham, Johnson had overshadowed the event, first of all by attacking May’s Brexit plan as “deranged” and then by appearing to parody the prime minister by being photographed jogging through a field of wheat.
Rumours of a potential leadership bid were bolstered when Tory and Vote Leave donors including hedge fund billionaire Michael Hintze as well as political strategist Mark Fullbrook, who is Lynton Crosby’s business partner in the UK, were spotted in the audience.
However, a series of senior Tory figures including the chancellor, the home secretary, Sajid Javid, and the Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson, have been among those who have criticised Johnson over his constant attacks on May’s Brexit plans, as well as his attempts to overshadow the conference.
Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Theresa MayTheresa May
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Conservative conference 2018Conservative conference 2018
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