Eurosceptic Tories leave a bad taste in Ruth’s mouth
RUTH Davidson yesterday criticised fellow Tories who are refusing to campaign for next week’s European Parliament elections.
Launching her campaign at a whisky distillery near Stirling, the Scottish Conservative leader said it was ‘pretty disappointing’ that a number of Eurosceptic Tory MPs have refused to back the party in the poll.
Tory chairman Brandon Lewis has warned party candidates they have little chance of getting elected next week unless they are already a sitting MEP.
Boris Johnson has told friends he will not campaign in the elections to the European Parliament, which the UK was supposed to have left in March.
Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield are among a string of other Tory MPs who have indicated they will play no part in the elections.
But Miss Davidson said yesterday: ‘I would say to some colleagues down South who are perhaps choosing not to campaign that that’s pretty disappointing.’
She urged Tory voters flirting with the Brexit Party to ‘start walking back to the middle’, saying a vote for the Conservatives was a vote for leaving the EU in an ‘orderly manner’.
Tory sources have confirmed that the party will have no manifesto for next week’s election. And Downing Street was unable to say yesterday whether Theresa May will take part in any campaign events.