Heed the call for end to plots

Tories must focus on governing

BREXIT SECRETARY David Davis has offered a blunt description of the apparent backroom machinations taking place within the Conservative party over the potential removal of Theresa May as Prime Minister, calling it “selfindulgent nonsense”.

The Haltemprice and Howden MP, himself one of the front-runners to replace Mrs May, made the pertinent point that a Tory leadership contest at this time would be catastrophic for the EU withdrawal negotiations he is tasked with leading.

It follows reports of a plot to make Chancellor Philip Hammond caretaker Prime Minister for two years, supported by Mr Davis as his deputy. It is suggested fellow leadership contender Boris Johnson would fight such a coronation plan “tooth and nail”.

The extent of open dissent against Mrs May’s leadership is not in doubt; Mr Davis has accepted a Tory MP told him he should be PM at a party meeting, claiming that his response was to say, “Our job is to support the Prime Minister and make Brexit work, not anything else”.

Taken on face value, this is an entirely sensible outlook. The huge complexity of the negotiations is shown in the ongoing Cabinet row about the potential length of any “transition period” for temporary trade arrangements with the EU after March 2019. While Mr Davis suggests that such an interim measure will be needed for less than two years, Mr Hammond has previously claimed it may be required for over four years.

Mr Davis admits he is far from blameless for his party’s current predicament, accepting he was among those who urged Mrs May to call the ill-fated election that has so weakened her position. That decision has cast greater uncertainty on the vital Brexit negotiations that will shape the country’s future. But further upheaval now puts the prospect of success in even greater danger.