My country must come before my party if PM sides with hardliners
AS THE Prime Minister returns to Number 10 from her holiday, the key to the future of our country and the Conservative Party lies in what she does in the next few months.
With the Brexit negotiations beginning in earnest, Theresa May will need all the wise counsel she can get. Fortunately, there are sensible, moderate wise owls in the Cabinet and on the Conservative back benches.
Mrs May must waste no time in taking on the ‘Hard Brexiteers’ and making it clear that she sides with responsible Cabinet Ministers – such as Chancellor Philip Hammond – who appreciate that we need a sensible Brexit transition period to avoid plunging this country headlong into an economic nightmare.
In other words – the wise owls should be ruling the roost.
But if the Prime Minister or her successor (in the event of Theresa standing down) is not prepared to confront the ideologues, I gravely fear that the party could split – and that would change Britain’s political landscape completely.
Many Remainers like me have been true to our promise to respect the result of last year’s referendum. However, we must face up to the Brexit reality: It is fantasy to think we are going to get a good deal from the EU based on our current negotiating strategy. People will soon see how they have been conned by the Brexiteers. All options must go back on the table.
There is a sense of resignation among most people who voted Remain that we have to ‘man up’ – even the women among us – and make the most of what we know will be a rotten Brexit.
But it does not have to be like that. Brexit is a self-inflicted wound; the people of this country hold the knife and they don’t have to use it if they don’t want to. The people, not the hardline Brexiteers, are in charge.
We will soon have a better idea of what type of Brexit we are heading for. Mrs May must be careful not to steer the country or the party in the wrong direction. She must take both with her. That means Tory party managers must not issue wild threats against any Conservative who expresses an opinion contrary to the views of those who would seek a ruinous ‘Hard Brexit’. Treating people like me as the ‘enemy within’, as opposed to patriots with a legitimate and well-considered view shared by millions of voters, will achieve nothing.
Mrs May is making a great mistake if she allows her policy to be dictated by the Brexit ideologues. They effectively brought down John Major, David Cameron and, arguably, Margaret Thatcher – and will not hesitate to do the same to her.
I am proud of my loyalty to my party and my country.
People have asked me two questions, if the worst happened and we staggered recklessly towards a ‘Hard Brexit’ that would destroy the lives and livelihoods of my constituents: Could I ever see myself joining with like-minded people who want to save our country from such an appalling fate? And has that moment arrived yet?
The answer to the first question is ‘it is not impossible’; the answer to the second is ‘no’.
But I would be betraying my principles if I did not make it clear that country must always come before party.