Why Brexiteers can’t agree on a rival to Chequers
Generational divide among rebellious MPS creates barriers and rivalries
TOUTED as the most “influential” group of Conservative MPS in Westminster and chaired by the ever conspicuous Jacob Rees-mogg, the European Research Group (ERG) is never far from the headlines.
Thanks to Brexit, the “loose association” of Eurosceptic Tories known as the ERG is now foremost on Downing Street’s radar when it comes to attempted leadership coups, the latest of which was openly discussed at a meeting in Parliament on Tuesday. But what exactly is the ERG and how did it come to be so feared by Number 10?
Its origins can be traced back to the Maastricht rebellion of the 1990s, when its founding father Sir Michael Spicer, former chairman of the 1922 committee, created the group to promote the coordination of centreright opposition across Europe.
In its early years, it was a largely academic endeavour, which as the name implies, did not focus on political mischief-making but rather making the ideological arguments for Euroscepticism.
Largely moribund for the best part of 20 years between the late 1990s and 2016, it came back to life following the EU referendum under the stewardship of former Brexit minister Steve Baker.
Its first major intervention came in October 2016 with the publication of papers outlining the post-brexit vision of leading Eurosceptics including former Tory leader
Iain Duncan Smith and John Redwood, Margaret Thatcher’s former economic adviser.
It is understood about 60 MPS are members of the ERG but Mr Reesmogg has suggested the number is higher than 100, pointing out that peers and cabinet ministers are also eligible to join. It is perhaps worth noting that at the time of the referendum, 129 Tory MPS voted Leave.
Under Mr Baker, then the relatively unknown MP for Wycombe, the ERG was active within Parliament but not well known to the wider world. It was not frequently quoted in the media and its activities were below the radar.
Mr Baker’s critics within the Eurosceptic movement accused him of using it as a platform for his political ambitions and there was no great surprise when he was offered a promotion to a junior ministerial job as Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Exiting the European Union after the 2017 general election.
With “Tiggerish” Mr Baker’s “vim” gone, the ERG was no longer making waves but ripples. It did not help that his replacement Suella Braverman (then Fernandes, the MP for Fareham) only lasted eight months as his replacement before she too was promoted to Dexeu.
Keen for a renaissance, the ERG leadership, including Mr Duncan Smith, former Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson and former shadow defence secretary Sir Bernard Jenkin suggested that Mr Rees-mogg (inset) take the role of chairman.
An insider said: “There was no election as such – rather a consensus.”
Under his leadership, the visibility of the group increased enormously and it is now the most significant Conservative faction determined to destroy the Chequers plan – hence its tense relationship with Number 10.
Yet while it always presents a united front to Downing Street, the ERG is a relatively broad anti-brussels church.
Described as “like a group of friends rather than a military unit”, such a loose association of like-minded people has inevitably given rise to differences of opinion.
Indeed there have been suggestions in recent days that this diverse thinking has resulted in the ERG’S failure to produce a coherent alternative to Theresa May’s widely unpopular Brexit plan.
It has not proved easy for the ERG to hammer out its own blueprint, with insiders revealing yesterday that it had shelved its Plan B over concerns about its “accuracy and eccentricity”.
“The Eurosceptics within the ERG are highly individualistic people and sometimes they have conflicting views about the detail of Brexit policy,” a source said.
“It’s not really that there are factions within it but there are certainly rivalries.
“Although Jacob’s chairman, they don’t really have a chief executive who corrals people into a collective
‘It’s not really the case that there are factions within the ERG but there are certainly rivalries’
policy position.” The main division within the ERG is essentially one between the old guard who all cut their teeth on the Maastricht rebellion and the newer, younger generation who just want out of Europe.
Joining Mr Baker on this side of the divide are the likes of Dover MP Charlie Elphicke and leading female Brexiteers Andrea Jenkyns, Theresa Villiers and Anne-marie Trevelyan.
“The younger generation get rather impatient with the more veteran MPS who have rather fixed views on things,” said a source.
There is then the added problem of disagreements over Mrs May’s leadership. Superficially at least, many Westminster observers will be surprised that the usually discreet ERG held a meeting to openly debate over whether or not to kick Mrs May out.
That reflects the transformation of the ERG from a quasi academic policy based body into a highly active political pressure group within the parliamentary Conservative party.
As one member put it: “Brexit now defines everything.”
Since the referendum it is not the 1922 or 92 committees hosting such well-publicised conversations but a group defined by European policy.
As one observer put it: “The factions still exist they just play in different