Davis fails to rule out Tory leadership bid
DAVID DAVIS has warned that a Tory leadership contest would be “catastrophic” for Brexit negotiations, but refused to rule out the possibility that he could challenge Theresa May while the talks are ongoing.
Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary who is tipped for a potential leadership bid, also failed to rule herself out of the running in a series of interviews yesterday.
Mrs May’s position is so precarious that MPS know she could be one more error from being forced to step down, with several rivals waiting in the wings should the opportunity arise.
Mr Davis, the Brexit Secretary, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, are seen as the frontrunners to take over before the next election.
But there are those within the Conservative Party who believe it is now time to skip a generation and look to the 2010 intake of MPS for the next leader, including, potentially, Ms Patel.
Mr Johnson has already ruled out running to be Tory leader until after Brexit is delivered in 2019 and Mr Davis was invited to do the same yesterday. Appearing on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Davis was asked: “You could say, like Boris Johnson, you’re not going to stand against her until Brexit is done, probably not ever?”
He passed up the opportunity, saying: “No, look, I’m not going to get into it. I really am – it’s self-indulgent.” Asked if a Tory leadership contest would be “catastrophic” for Brexit talks, he said: “Yes. Listen … I happen to think we have got a very good prime minister.”