British PM May, Johnson trade barbs over Brexit plan
LONDON: Seven months before the UK is due to leave the European Union, recriminations in the ruling Conservative Party continued on Monday, with Prime Minister Theresa May slapping down rebel colleague Boris Johnson’s criticism of her Brexit plan.
Johnson, the former foreign secretary who resigned over May’s Brexit plan outlined in July, piled more criticism in a column in The Daily Telegraph published on Monday.
May’s plan, seen as a version of “soft Brexit” since it envisages a “common rulebook” with the EU after leaving the grouping, was presented to her cabinet at Chequers, her country residence in July. It led to a spate of resignations, including that of Brexit secretary David Davis.
In a rare intervention, Downing Street was quick to counter Johnson’s claims, with May’s spokesman saying: “The Chequers proposals are the only credible and negotiable plan which has been put forward and which will deliver on the will of the British people.”
Johnson’s resignation and interventions through his column are seen as positioning to emerge as the next leader of the Conservative Party and the prime minister. The former journalist has many supporters in the party, as well as several critics.
In the column that prompted May’s allies to rally behind her on morning radio and television shows, Johnson wrote the main problem with Brexit was “not that we have failed, but that we have not even tried”.
“The reality is that in this negotiation the EU has so far taken every important trick. The UK has agreed to hand over £40bn of taxpayers’ money for twothirds of diddly squat,” he wrote.
According to him, by adopting the Chequers plan, “we have gone into battle with the white flag fluttering over our leading tank”. It would be “impossible for the UK to be more competitive, to innovate, to deviate, to initiate, and we are ruling out major free trade deals”, he added.