The Iron Saj... Javid’s plan to sort out Brexit

ECHOING Margaret Thatcher, Sajid Javid vows today that he is ready to take Britain out of the EU without a deal if he cannot win concessions from Brussels.

Setting out his Brexit plan in an article for the Daily Mail, the Tory leadership contender rules out holding another referendum, an early general election or revoking Article 50.

‘In the words of a great British prime minister who knew how to get what she wanted from the European Commission: No, no, no,’ he writes.

‘The voters have been asked their opinion more than enough times. Never in this country’s history have we asked people to go to the polls a second time without implementing their verdict from the first.’

In his first major intervention since launching his campaign, Mr Javid reveals a five-point plan on Brexit which he describes as an ‘honest, credible set

‘We are not afraid of walking out’

of up becomes He proposals preparations challenges says prime he that would we minister recognises face’. for immediately No to Deal show the significant ramp if he he is serious This would about include walking holding away. an emergency Budget to lay out for the first time details of the tax cuts the Government would introduce if the EU continues to play hardball.

He makes clear that his preference is to strike a deal – but the only way to get this through the Commons is to amend the backstop, which sank Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement.

He says he believes the technology exists to avoid a hard border in Ireland without needing the backstop – and adds he will even offer to pay tens of millions to Ireland to help pay for the equipment needed, in a bid to break the deadlock.

Mr Javid, 49, says this would be ‘a small price to pay’ for resolving the border problem and rebuilding trust damaged by two years of fractious relations.

However, he insists that he would also accelerate work to get the country ready for No Deal. ‘ This would show the EU we are ready ... so when we turn up to negotiate they know we are not afraid of walking out,’ he writes. Mrs May’s would-be successors are split on

Brexit. Boris Johnson, Dominic

Raab, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey have all pledged to leave on October 31 come what may, while Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock have warned of the dangers of doing so. Michael Gove is the only one of the leading contenders yet to spell out his plans. In Mr Javid’s pitch to Tory MPs and party members, he vows to ‘take every step possible’ to get an agreement in place in place by the next deadline. ‘ We should leave on October 31,’ he writes. ‘If we cannot get a deal we should, with great regret, leave without one, having done everything we can to minimise disruption.’

But he warns that the parliamentary arithmetic was ‘inescapable’, adding: ‘ It’s simply not credible to promise you can deliver a No Deal Brexit if Parliament is set again it.’

Mr Javid, who backed Remain in the referendum but has since positioned himself as a firm Leaver, says he can ‘ unite the party and the country’.

His bid to win over Brexiteers has been boosted by the arrival of former Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott, who is running his campaign. Mr Javid became the first home secretary from an ethnic minority background when he was appointed last April.

The son of a Pakistani bus driver from Rochdale, he was a managing director at Deutsche Bank before being elected to Parliament as the MP for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. He has long been a devotee of Mrs Thatcher, and has a picture of the former prime minister above his desk at the Home Office.

Yesterday he won the endorsement of justice minister Edward Argar. Writing on the Conservative Home website, Mr Argar said: ‘Sajid has an inspiring story of how he got ahead in life and what our country means for him – he is the embodiment of the Conservative values of aspiration and hard work, and of modern British identity.

‘The reason many voters never consider voting for us is because they don’t believe we understand their needs or share their values.

‘That’s why Sajid’s working-class background, with a family who relied heavily on public services, will be such an asset in the next election. The drive that took him to university, and into a highly successful business career, is also exactly the kind of spirit and skill we need as a country to fully seize our post- Brexit opportunities.

‘The spirit and skill we need’

Sajid is someone with extensive experience in both the private sector and in Government, having held four different Cabinet roles. This is the sort of man who could do the job of being our prime minister from day one.’

The London Chamber of Commerce yesterday said no prime minister can guarantee avoiding No Deal, and must be ready for it. Chief executive David Frost said: ‘Business needs to be confident that Government is still preparing for a No Deal Brexit.’

IN the first, gentle stage of the Miss World competition, candidates are invited to share their personal stories and future dreams with the assembled audience.

Something similar has been going on in the Tory leadership race this week, with candidates showing an initial glimpse of ankle, before progressing to the serious business of outlining detailed policy.

While the traditional aspirations of Miss World contestants are for world peace or a cure for cancer, the overriding ambition of all the Conservative hopefuls is to deliver an honourable Brexit.

They know that until that happens, British politics will remain paralysed, and disillusioned voters will not return to the Tory fold. Failure to deliver could destroy the party. The stakes are that high.

There is certainly no shortage of contenders in this beauty parade. Declaring his candidacy in today’s Mail, Sajid Javid became number 12.

Their main task is to convince us that – even in a hopelessly divided Commons and despite Brussels intransigence – they can succeed where Theresa May failed.

Otherwise, we are straight back to square one. Several candidates, notably Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and now Mr Javid himself, are in defiant mood.

They would press for the reopening of the withdrawal agreement, so the Irish backstop and other outstanding issues may be renegotiated. If Brussels refused, they would pull Britain out of the EU by October 31 – deal, or no deal.

This paper has never favoured No Deal. It would bring huge border problems and massively disrupt business ( though perhaps not quite create the apocalypse suggested by the Confederation of British Industry). But the threat of it is a powerful bargaining chip.

As Mr Johnson put it: ‘ No-one sensible would aim for a No Deal outcome. No-one responsible would take No Deal off the table.’ So at least we know where these candidates stand.

(Mr Javid especially, offers a coherent strategy, though even he doesn’t explain how he’d push a No Deal Brexit through our Remainer Parliament.)

With others, such as Rory Stewart and Jeremy Hunt, it’s more difficult to tell. They are implacably opposed to No Deal. But crucially, what they haven’t yet told us is how to avoid it and still deliver Brexit.

How would they get Brussels to soften its line? Or persuade Labour MPs, who have so far spurned every attempt at compromise, to honour their manifesto promise to accept the referendum result?

The Mail has great regard for both men. But they must give us a concrete plan, not simply ask us to take a leap of faith.

The country deserves nothing less, not least to avoid a catastrophic repeat of Mrs May’s unhappy experience.

Meanwhile, there is one cause for optimism. While the Tories can at least see where the road to recovery lies, their Labour opponents are completely marooned.

They are mired in a shaming anti-Semitism inquiry, fighting like ferrets in a sack over the merits of a ‘People’s Vote’, and racked by division and mutual loathing. While there are no grounds for complacency, Labour’s misery can be the Tories’ opportunity.

True, as Sue Reid powerfully reports on this page, next week’s Peterborough byelection promises another drubbing for both main parties. Voters will vent their anger on the political establishment over the Brexit fiasco. But from this rock bottom, a Tory revival can begin.

A new leader, with a dynamic vision for a better, freer, more prosperous Britain could yet win back public trust and propel the party to another decade in power.

But first, the Mail urges all the contenders to explain precisely how they propose to sever Brexit’s Gordian knot. Without that, our country cannot move forward.