JOHNSON’S NO DEAL THREAT
Boris vows: It’s time to put Brexit to bed and leave in October... we MUST be ready to walk away
BORIS Johnson yesterday pledged he would take the country out of the EU in October – with or without a deal.
Setting out his pitch to be leader just hours after Theresa May announced her departure, the former foreign secretary said it was time to ‘put Brexit to bed’.
Mr Johnson is the early favourite to take over, but he faces a mounting ‘Stop Boris’ campaign from MPs who oppose him. At an economic conference in Switzerland, he yesterday ruled out any further delays beyond the end of October, when the latest extension is due to expire. He said: ‘We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal.’
But Mr Johnson risks creating a hostage to fortune because he could be forced to call a general election to deliver on his promise.
Dominic Grieve yesterday threatened that he and other Tory MPs could help sink a Johnson-led government that pursued No Deal.
Mr Johnson said that he did ‘not want or think No Deal will be the outcome’, but believed that being ready to walk away from negotiations was the only way to secure compromises from Brussels.
‘The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a No Deal. To get things done you need to be prepared to walk real find could incentive a away,’ be solution long-term he for added. otherwise both bitterness.’ ‘There parties there is to a had Mr failed Johnson to explain claimed the politicians ‘positives’ of Brexit, adding: ‘The biggest threat to British prosperity is not Brexit, the biggest threat is Jeremy Corbyn. The job of our next leader in the UK, he or she, is to get out of the EU properly and put Brexit to bed. ‘And to make sure we have an exciting, dynamic, but also socially compassionate conservatism that can see off Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.’ The Tories plan to select their new leader by the end of July, allowing him or her just three months to negotiate changes to Mrs May’s Brexit deal before October 31.
An extra difficulty is that the EU may not have appointed a new European Commission by then.
Mr Johnson refused to set out more details on his plans, beyond saying: ‘A new leader will have the opportunity to do things differently and have the momentum of a new administration.
‘I don’t wish to elaborate on what I’m going to do and how we are going to do it, but believe me you will hear possibly more about that than you necessarily want to in the next few days.’
Earlier, Mr Johnson, who resigned from Mrs May’s Cabinet last July, thanked her for her ‘stoical service’ to our country and the party.
Mr Johnson is the frontrunner among Tory members, but many MPs hold reservations about his suitability for the top job.
Mr Grieve told LBC: ‘I personally have serious doubts about Boris Johnson’s capacity to be Prime Minister. I’d have to consider my position very carefully because I would find it very difficult to accept his leadership.’
The former attorney general later told Sky News: ‘If the idea of No Deal on Halloween is becoming an increasingly popular option then people will have to face the fact that the party may not be in government on Halloween to deliver it. It is as serious as that.’ Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday tweeted: ‘That Boris Johnson as PM is a serious proposition is proof that the Tories have taken leave of their senses.
‘Nothing – apart from Brexit obviously – has done more to trash the UK’s global reputation in last three years than his risible tenure as foreign secretary.’
Mr Johnson has raised more than £130,000 for his leadership bid. In the last few days, he has been holding meetings with Tory MPs, trying to persuade them that he should be their next leader.