May clings to lifeline amid obstacles to Brexit deal
British PM to drop unpopular policies, promise ‘humility’ in Queen’s Speech
LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May will put Brexit at the heart of the Queen’s Speech to Parliament on Wednesday and jettison a raft of key manifesto pledges in the hope that she can remain prime minister for at least two more years.
However, May still has no guarantee that she can form a viable government after the Democratic Union Party on Tuesday night threatened to walk away from a proposed deal.
The prime minister will admit that the general election result “was not the one I hoped for” and that she needs to “gain the trust and confidence of the British people.”
She will start that process by dropping unpopular policies on social care, winter fuel payments, free school meals, fox hunting, grammar schools and the pensions “triple lock.”
In an attempt to cling to power, May will pack the Queen’s Speech with Brexit legislation on migration and trade, which will dominate parliamentary business until 2019.
May will also promise to show “humility” and learn the lessons of “the message the electorate sent.”
The opening of Parliament will go ahead despite no deal yet being reached with the DUP, without whose support May cannot command an overall majority.
The DUP threatened to walk away from the talks altogether Tuesday night, claiming Downing Street was in “complete chaos” and urging the government to give “greater focus” to the negotiations.
DUP sources said the party should not be “taken for granted” in talks which had not “proceeded in a way that the DUP would have expected.”
There was even speculation that the Conservatives could approach the Liberal Democrats for support now that Tim Farron, the party’s leader — who opposed any deal with the Tories — is stepping down.
Whitehall sources said they were “confident” the DUP would support the Queen’s Speech, even if a deal is delayed, with negotiations over money said to be the final sticking point.
The DUP is understood to have agreed to the content of the Queen’s Speech, which was postponed from Monday, because talks over a deal were taking longer than anticipated. The Speech will contain little in the way of new policies.
It will include the Great Repeal Bill, which will transfer EU laws to the British statute books before they can be repealed, and the Government’s White Paper setting out May’s 12 principles for leaving the EU, including exiting the single market and the customs union. However, the prime minister faces opposition within her own cabinet, as well as from the majority of MPs who favour a soft Brexit.
Philip Hammond, the chancellor of the exchequer, used his annual Mansion House speech to the City of London on Tuesday — delayed because of the London apartment tower fire — to promise a “jobs first” Brexit, with business needs prioritized over migration controls, in direct conflict with May’s own plans for leaving the European Union.
Hammond said immigration will be managed but not “shut down” as the country leaves the EU “in a way that prioritizes British jobs and underpins Britain’s prosperity.”
The chancellor favours a deal that allows Britain to maintain the benefits of membership of the customs union, but May and David Davis, the secretary of state for exiting the European Union, have made it clear that membership of the customs union will end.
May will tell the Commons: “This Queen’s Speech is about recognizing and grasping the opportunities that lie ahead for the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.
“It is about delivering a Brexit deal that works for all parts of the U.K. while building a stronger, fairer country by strengthening our economy, tackling injustice and promoting opportunity and aspiration.”
She will insist that the “priority” of the electorate is “to get Brexit right,” even though other issues dominated the election campaign.
The prime minister will point out that more than 80 per cent of the electorate backed the Tories or Labour, both of whom support the need to deliver on the result of last year’s EU referendum.
In truth, however, May does not command enough support to put her most controversial manifesto promises into the Queen’s Speech, knowing she would risk defeat.
This Queen’s Speech is about recognizing and grasping the opportunities that lie ahead for the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.