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Tory leadership contest: Cleverly says no deal better than no Brexit | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Not delivering Brexit at all would be "significantly more damaging" than no deal, Conservative leadership candidate James Cleverly has said. | |
However, the Brexit minister added that leaving the EU without a deal was "not my preferred outcome". | |
"I am Brexit tooth and claw, but we need to be pragmatic and sensible and leave with a deal," he told the BBC. | |
Meanwhile another leadership hopeful, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, has vowed to recruit 20,000 new police officers. | |
Writing in the Sun, Mr Javid says: "More police on the beat means less crime on our streets. Not exactly rocket science is it?" | |
BBC Reality Check says, under the Conservative and coalition governments, the number of police offices has fallen by somewhere between 19,000 and 22,000. | |
The contest to replace Theresa May has not officially begun, but the list of hopefuls already setting out their stalls is growing by the day. | |
A key dividing line appears to be between those who have indicated they would consider leaving the EU on 31 October - the current deadline - without a deal, and those who feel that would be unacceptable. | |
Lack of experience? | |
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Cleverly - the latest to enter the race - said his party's "political reputation would be damaged" if Brexit was not delivered. | |
"The idea that we revert to a pre-referendum reality [if it does not happen] is for the birds." | |
On the possibility of no deal, he insisted it would bring "uncertainty" and difficulty", but would not be the disaster many fear. | |
When asked about his lack of experience - Mr Cleverly became an MP in 2015 and has only been a minister for a few months - he said "two of our most successful prime ministers" out of the last four had been those with "zero government experience", referring to Tony Blair and David Cameron. | |
He also welcomed the large number of MPs vying to become leader, arguing that when Mrs May was elected she had been "uncontested and untested" because rivals dropped out - and later turned out not to "fit well with the role of prime minister". | |
Mr Cleverly was also asked about the possibility of becoming the UK's first black prime minister. | |
He said it was not something he thought much about, but was "very proud that the Conservative Party looks like it might have the first prime minister from a BME background". | |
In an open letter earlier, the MP for Braintree in Essex spoke about the need to unite the party, arguing: "We cannot bring the country back together unless the party of government is united, and the party cannot unite if it is led from its fringes." | |
He added: "To inspire the British people we need to look different, sound different, and offer something new. I believe I can do that." | |
'Don't speak ill' | |
As the campaign progresses, leadership candidates are signing a "clean campaign" pledge. | |
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Mr Javid have promised not to "speak ill of fellow Conservatives". | |
Mr Raab said the campaign should be a "battle of ideas not of personalities". | |
International Development Secretary Rory Stewart has also said he wants to sign up to the pledge. | |
On Tuesday, Mrs May urged her successor to seek a consensus on Brexit in Parliament, while senior EU figures reiterated that the UK-EU withdrawal agreement could not be re-opened - despite promises by leadership hopefuls to do so. | |
Who is standing? | Who is standing? |
Along with Mr Cleverly, the confirmed candidates to replace Mrs May are: | Along with Mr Cleverly, the confirmed candidates to replace Mrs May are: |
The winner, expected to be named by late July, will also become prime minister. | |
Other MPs are considering running, including Treasury Minister Jesse Norman. | |
The deadline to put their names forward is the week commencing 10 June, and they must have at least two of their colleagues supporting them. | |
In June, the BBC will hold a series of special programmes on the race. | |
All candidates still standing by mid-June will be invited to a hustings event on BBC One and the final two will go head-to-head in a Question Time Special. | |