May savages EU
HOME Secretary Theresa May yesterday unleashed a devastating attack on the EU and the ‘nonsense’ arguments put for - ward for staying in.
But, despite admitting that British membership makes it impossible to control the ‘volume of immigration ’ – and declaring we could thrive on the outside – she said she would still be voting for Remain.
One senior minister said: ‘Theresa is having her cake and eating it. She deserves to be hammered by both sides for this.’
MPs also accused her of seeking to shore up her leadership ambitions with the Tory Right. They pointed to the fact the speech also included an unexpected demand for Britain to quit the Euro - pean Court of Human Rights, which put Mrs May at odds with Number 10.
In her first major intervention in the referendum campaign, Mrs May said: ‘I do not want to stand here and insult people’s intelligence by claiming that everything about the EU is perfect, that membership of the EU is wholly good, nor do I believe that the sky will fall in if we vote to leave.’ She added: ‘Britain is
‘Hammered by both sides’ ‘Humiliating spectacle’
big enough and strong enough to be a success story in or out of the EU.’
Her remarks – backed by a demand for a more ‘mature’ debate – were seen as a rebuke to some of her stridently pro-EU ministerial colleagues.
They have issued a series of dire warnings that Britain will face huge job losses, soaring prices and rocketing energy bills if it votes out on June 23.
Leave campaigners leapt on Mrs May’s remark that EU free movement rules make it ‘harder’ to control immigration and that is ‘no good thing’.
Ex-Tory leader Lord Howard said: ‘It is a humiliating spectacle to watch the Home Secretary admit that immigra - tion is too high, but that there is noth - ing she can do to stop it.’
Ministers who support quitting the EU also seized on her warnings about the dangers of admitting T urkey, Albania and Serbia to the EU.
Her warning was made despite the fact that it remains Government policy to support Turkey’s long-term application to join the Brussels club.
Mrs May said they were ‘countries with poor populations and serious problems with organised crime, corruption, and sometimes even terrorism’.
She added: ‘Is it really right that the EU should just continue to expand, conferring upon all new member states all the rights of membership?’
Ex-work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘The Home Secre - tary is right to warn of the dangers of countries like Albania and Turkey being allowed to join the European Union.
‘If these countries are let into the EU’s open border system it will only increase the pressure on our NHS, schools and housing. It will also vastly increase the risk of crime and terrorism.
‘After the Home Secretary’s powerful intervention, is the P rime Minister now going to make clear that the UK no longer supports their bid to join the EU? If he does not, will he make clear why he disa - grees with his own Home Secretary?’
Number 10 denied it was unhappy with the speech – which struck a decidedly more sceptical tone than those by the likes of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Energy Secretary Amber Rudd. Officials said that Mrs May had made ‘the Eurosceptic case for remaining inside the EU’. Mrs May – whom MPs had hoped would lead the Out campaign – said that, despite the downsides of EU membership, Britain was on balance better off in.
She said it was more secure inside the EU owing to the European Arrest W arrant and information sharing on terrorists and other criminals. She also said that, in the interests of trade and the single market, Remain was the best option.
Mrs May said the UK had to ‘stand tall and lead in Europe’ rather than leave. She said the UK ‘has to have more confidence to get things done’ rather than ‘shouting from the sidelines’.
But she also dropped a hint that her support for EU membership may not be permanent. She warned: ‘The organisations of which the UK should become – and remain – a member will be a matter of constant judgment for our leaders and the public for many years to come.’ Her remarks followed a warning by Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary , that expanding the EU would trigger an immigration free-for-all.
Mr Gove said last night: ‘There is a direct and serious threat to our public services, standard of living and ability to maintain social solidarity if we accept continued membership of the EU.’
And yesterday , Mr Duncan Smith warned that Britain could see a surge in support for the far Right if it does not bring immigration under control.
He told ITV ’s The Agenda: ‘If you don’t get migration under control and in balance you end up with parties like the Front National in France and Golden Dawn in Greece. Suddenly it becomes a really nasty situation.’
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