Tories need ‘experience’ at helm
Grayling says May’s successor must be Brexiteer who can hand over to next generation as Cabinet splits over customs union plan
THE Conservative Party must appoint a senior Tory Eurosceptic to lead it through the next phase of the Brexit negotiations and delay a full-scale leadership contest until after the 2022 election, a Cabinet minister says today.
The comments by Chris Grayling, who was Theresa May’s leadership campaign manager in 2016, will be seen as an effort to streamline the race to replace her, amid speculation that up to two dozen MPS could slug it out in a campaign lasting months.
The Transport Secretary’s remarks, the first by a Cabinet minister on who should succeed the Prime Minister when she quits, as expected, within weeks, will be considered a blow to the aspirations of Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and Matt Hancock, all in their 40s.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, today sets out his pitch for leader, painting himself as a “One Nation” Tory who wanted wideranging tax cuts.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Grayling said it was “more likely than not that the next leader will be someone who campaigned for Brexit”. He said: “The party has to ask itself a question about the leadership: the next two or three years are going to be very tough because the European stuff is not going to go away.
“We have got to negotiate a freetrade agreement, sort out where we are, but also as we get into the 2020s we are going to have to pass the torch to a new generation.
“Is the person who takes us through the next two or three years and sorts out Brexit and gets the sort of hard time that Theresa has had, the same person who we want to be leading us into the 2027 general election?
“It may be that we are planning two things rather than one. Planning somebody who has got the experience and resilience to get us through the immediate future. But then ... we have got a really good generation of younger politicians in their 40s who can make a real impact, who are going to be the leadership of the party in the future.”
His remarks came as a fresh Cabinet war over the next steps in the Brexit process threatened to break out, with MPS likely to reject Mrs May’s deal for the fourth time this week. MPS will hold a second round of “indicative votes” today on alternatives to the Prime Minister’s deal.
Yesterday, David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, said if MPS coalesced around a plan by Kenneth Clarke to keep the UK in a customs union, ministers should consider it despite the fact it went against the party’s last election manifesto. There are real concerns that if Mrs May tries to force ministers to vote for or against a customs union, several could resign.
Ten Cabinet ministers back staying in a customs union, 13 others want the Government to pursue a no-deal exit on April 12, and four are undecided, according to analysis by The Telegraph.
Mr Grayling warns that remaining in a customs union after Brexit would allow a far smaller country such as Lithuania to dictate the UK’S terms of trade with the Commonwealth.
Last night, lobbying was in full swing, with claims that two ministers were ringing round Tory MPS, urging support for the customs union vote.
Separately, Nick Boles, one of those behind the measure, said: “I would like to make one thing clear to [Chief Whip] Julian Smith. If you want us to carry on voting for the PM’S Withdrawal Agreement, you need to stop trying to scupper alternatives.”
Mr Johnson dismisses a customs union and writes in today’s Telegraph that a no-deal exit is “far the best option”. He says the Conservatives should “get on with” Brexit and then concentrate on “cutting taxes wherever we reasonably can” with “cuts in stamp duty, and inheritance tax on family firms”. He writes: “We need to get back to explaining our One Nation Tory approach and the vital symmetry between great public services and a dynamic free market economy.”
A bid by Mr Johnson for the leadership also received an unlikely vote of confidence last night from Tony Blair, who said a government led by the former London mayor would win at the next election if Labour retained Jeremy Corbyn’s “revolutionary” politics.
Mr Blair told Huffington Post: “If you have a Boris Johnson-led Conservative Party, he’s a formidable campaigner, he’s an interesting personality, he can get out there and do his stuff, for sure.
“But you’ve got to be in the position as a Labour Party where you’re offering a sensible, coherent alternative that is different and progressive.
“I have absolutely no doubt that if you have Right-wing populism against Left-wing populism in this country, the Right-wing will win.”
There is growing speculation that Mrs May could call a general election rather than accept a customs union or soft alternative imposed by her own Europhile MPS. James Cleverly, the Tory deputy chairman, admitted in an interview with Sky News that the party was engaged in “sensible pragmatic planning” about a poll.
No 10 last night played down the claims that the UK could remain in a customs union. A spokesman said: “We are committed to delivering the Brexit deal, which does not include membership of the customs union. What it does ensure is that we take back control of our money, laws and borders and it means we can strike independent trade deals with third countries.”
‘If you want us to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement, you need to stop trying to scupper alternatives’