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Jo Johnson quits as minister over Theresa May's Brexit plan Jo Johnson quits as minister over Theresa May's Brexit plan
(35 minutes later)
Jo Johnson has resigned from the government, saying he cannot support Theresa May’s Brexit deal, and MPs are being offered a choice between “vassalage and chaos”. Theresa May’s hopes of winning parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal were plunged into fresh doubt after Jo Johnson resigned from the government, accusing her of offering MPs a choice between “vassalage and chaos”.
The MP for Orpington and rail minister published an article saying he could not vote for the deal which May is expected to bring back to parliament within weeks – and instead would be campaigning for a second referendum. The remain-backing MP for Orpington and rail minister published an article online saying he could not vote for the deal which May is expected to bring back to parliament within weeks and instead would be throw his weight behind a second referendum.
“It has become increasingly clear to me that the withdrawal agreement, which is being finalised in Brussels and Whitehall even as I write, will be a terrible mistake,” he said in an online article. “It has become increasingly clear to me that the withdrawal agreement, which is being finalised in Brussels and Whitehall even as I write, will be a terrible mistake,” he wrote.
He said the public were being offered “an agreement that will leave our country economically weakened, with no say in the EU rules it must follow and years of uncertainty for business” or a no-deal Brexit “that I know as a transport minister will inflict untold damage on our nation”. He tweeted his decision to resign on Friday afternoon:
With great regret, I'm resigning from the Government - I have set out my reasons in this article and the video below. https://t.co/hzimcS8uiR pic.twitter.com/hUN9RLzDfq
He said in his article that the public were being offered “an agreement that will leave our country economically weakened, with no say in the EU rules it must follow and years of uncertainty for business” or a no-deal Brexit “that I know as a transport minister will inflict untold damage on our nation”.
“To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis.”“To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis.”
He added: “On this most crucial of questions, I believe it is entirely right to go back to the people and ask them to confirm their decision to leave the EU and, if they choose to do that, to give them the final say on whether we leave with the prime minister’s deal or without it. His shock resignation came just hours after May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, said he remained confident that the government could win MPs’ backing for the deal.
“To do anything less will do grave damage to our democracy.” Lidington has insisted the government remains confident it can get its Brexit deal through parliament, despite the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) warning it was prepared to vote it down.
Johnson, who backed remain, said the mooted deal had united him in “fraternal dismay” with his Brexit-backing brother Boris, who stepped down as foreign secretary in July saying he could not support May’s Chequers strategy. Speaking in the Isle of Man, where he was attending a meeting of the British-Irish Council, Lidington said he believed a “new dynamic” would emerge once MPs saw the full text of the proposed agreement.
He said: “I hope and I believe that we can secure that majority in parliament.”
Johnson’s statement was published after May spent much of the day in France and Belgium, laying wreaths alongside fellow leaders to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
Downing Street responded with a terse statement. A spokesman said: “The referendum in 2016 was the biggest democratic exercise in this country’s history. We will not under any circumstances have a second referendum. The PM thanks Jo Johnson for his work in government.”
As negotiations with Brussels enter their final fraught days, May’s approach to the talks has come under fire from both wings of her warring party, with the pro-Brexit European Research Group, and europhiles such as Anna Soubry, fiercely critical of her stance.
The DUP, whose 10 MPs May relies on for her majority, has suggested it could vote down the deal if it fears it could result in new customs or regulatory checks between the UK and Northern Ireland.
In seeking to prevent that outcome, the government is proposing that the UK would effectively enter a temporary customs union with the EU if a trade deal cannot be struck by the end of the transition period in December 2020 to avoid such checks.
Johnson became the latest senior Tory to back the idea of a second referendum and appeared to support the approach suggested by the former education secretary Justine Greening, who has suggested a three-option referendum.
“On this most crucial of questions, I believe it is entirely right to go back to the people and ask them to confirm their decision to leave the EU and, if they choose to do that, to give them the final say on whether we leave with the prime minister’s deal or without it,” Johnson said. “To do anything less will do grave damage to our democracy.”
His decision was welcomed by campaigners for a second referendum, with some privately suggesting other junior ministers could join him in the coming days.
Eloise Todd, of Best for Britain, said: “This is an incredibly brave move from Jo Johnson at a time when the public desperately needs more MPs to act in the national interest. We’ve been hurtling towards a blindfolded Brexit for too long, so it’s about time that politicians hand back control to the people of this country by giving them the final say on Brexit with the option to stay and lead in Europe.”
The shadow Brexit minister, Jenny Chapman, said: “Jo Johnson is the 18th minister to resign from Theresa May’s government. She has lost all authority and is incapable of negotiating a Brexit deal within her own party, let alone with the EU.
Johnson said the mooted deal had united him in “fraternal dismay” with his Brexit-backing brother Boris saying he could not support May’s Chequers strategy.
“My brother Boris, who led the leave campaign, is as unhappy with the government’s proposals as I am. Indeed he recently observed that the proposed arrangements were ‘substantially worse than staying in the EU’. On that he is unquestionably right,” he said.“My brother Boris, who led the leave campaign, is as unhappy with the government’s proposals as I am. Indeed he recently observed that the proposed arrangements were ‘substantially worse than staying in the EU’. On that he is unquestionably right,” he said.
Boris tweeted his “boundless admiration” for his brother, saying: “We may not have agreed about Brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible … UK position.” The former foreign secretary tweeted his “boundless admiration” for his brother, saying: “We may not have agreed about Brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible … UK position.”
Jo’s shock resignation came just a few hours after May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, insisted he was confident MPs would throw their weight behind the government’s deal once it was published. Boundless admiration as ever for my brother Jo. We may not have agreed about brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible of the UK position 1/2 https://t.co/QI4tMpLecc
The prime minister is expected to hold a cabinet meeting next week in the hope of securing the support of her ministers for her negotiating stance – and hopes to strike a deal within weeks.
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