Appeals for unity dominate UK Conservative Party on eve of speech by Boris Johnson
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The UK will listen to “alternative ways” of delivering Brexit, Dominic Raab has said, amid increasing doubts about the viability of Theresa May’s Chequers plan. The Brexit Secretary warned the EU it needed to “get serious” for there to be any hope of a deal being done between Britain and the bloc as he suggested the UK was willing to compromise further to reach an agreement.
Mr Raab’s comments came as Philip Hammond claimed that when Mrs May secures an agreement with Brussels it would lead to a “Deal Dividend” and a major boost to the UK economy. However, the Chancellor’s speech was largely overshadowed after he launched an extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson.
Mr Hammond suggested the former foreign secretary would be ill-suited to leading “very detailed and complex” Brexit negotiations because they require “meticulous” attention to detail rather than”big sweeping statements”. The Chancellor repeated his criticism of the former foreign secretary, claiming Mr Johnson would never be prime minister as he labelled him “incapable” of grown-up politics.
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 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.
Meanwhile, according to the Telegraph, Boris Johnson is expected to warn the Tories not to “ape Corbyn” by hiking tax to pay for public services, but instead “believe in Conservative values” like low taxation. If the Conservatives start to treat capitalism as a “boo word” they will lose the next election, the former foreign secretary will tell a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference.
