Tory leader challenge would be ‘catastrophic’
Davis warns MPs ousting May will put Brexit at risk
HOLDING a Tory leadership contest now would be ‘catastrophic’ for Brexit talks, David Davis warned yesterday.
The Brexit Secretary said a ‘stable backdrop’ in the UK was vital to maximising chances of a successful negotiation with Brussels.
But Mr Davis, who is himself tipped as a potential replacement for Theresa May, refused to rule out standing in a contest if Mrs May is toppled in the coming months.
International Development Secretary Priti Patel, considered another possible successor, also repeatedly refused to rule out standing for the top job if the Prime Minister is ousted.
Mr Davis hit out yesterday at the Tories plotting to oust Mrs May. He said his message to Tory MPs seeking a leadership battle was: ‘Don’t be so self-indulgent. Get on with the day job. The more self-indulgent nonsense you go in for, the more difficult you make it to do our proper job.’
Friends said the barb was aimed at Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has been accused by some ministers of manoeuvring for a future leadership contest.
But Mr Davis is also being encouraged to run for the leadership. Yesterday it emerged that the Tory grandee Sir Desmond Swayne told a gathering of Tory MPs last week that he ‘could not think of a better leader’ than Mr Davis.
Sir Desmond also told the gathering, organised by former environment secretary Owen Paterson, that Mrs May’s grip on power was ‘time limited’ in the wake of the election setback that saw her lose her Commons majority.
Mr Davis has formed an informal Cabinet alliance with the Chancellor Philip Hammond in recent months and some Tory MPs believe the pair could run on a joint ticket in order to defeat Mr Johnson in a leadership race.
Reports yesterday claimed that some ministers want the Chancellor, who is nicknamed ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ for his dry demeanour, to succeed Mrs May.
Mr Hammond has previously indicated the Treasury is the limit of his ambitions in politics. But he is said to have told friends recently: ‘If Theresa May can be Prime Minister then so can I.’ Mr Hammond and Mr Davis are both privately opposed to Mr Johnson becoming PM.
But Mr Davis yesterday urged Tory MPs to give Mrs May a chance. Asked if a leadership contest would be catastrophic for the Brexit negotiations, he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘ Yes. Let me be absolutely plain about this: number one, I happen to think we have got a very good Prime Minister.
‘I know she is coming under a lot of pressure, but I have seen her in action. I think she is very good. She makes good decisions. She’s bold. She takes her time.
‘Point number two is, I want a stable backdrop to this Brexit negotiation.’
Many Eurosceptic MPs also fear that toppling Mrs May could destabilise Brexit, and usher in a leader like Mr Hammond, who remains lukewarm about it.
But Mr Hammond was backed by ex-European Commissioner and Tory chairman Lord Patten, who described him as ‘one of the grown-ups in the Cabinet still’.
Some MPs believe that Mr Davis, Mr Johnson and Mr Hammond are all tainted and are urging colleagues to ‘skip a generation’.
Miss Patel, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, justice minister Dominic Raab and universities minister Jo Johnson, brother of Boris, are all tipped as possible leadership candidates.
Miss Patel ducked repeated questions yesterday about whether she might stand for the leadership, telling ITV’s Peston on Sunday programme: ‘The reality is and this is, this is me speaking very frankly, I’m focused on the job that needs to be done right now.’