CHUCK CHEQUERS!
BORIS Johnson has electrified the Tory party conference with a barnstorming speech urging Theresa May to ditch her so-called Chequers Brexit plan.
At a rammed rally in Birmingham, the former Foreign Secretary delivered a stark ultimatum that the PM must “chuck” her blueprint for ties with the EU – saying it denied the result of the referendum.
To huge applause yesterday, Boris warned that Britain had to show “self-belief” and stand up for freedom rather than be “manacled” by Brussels.
In a tough message to the premier that brought rapturous cheers, he said he was asking “one last time” for the Government to switch back to the original plan the PM set out.
Boris said: “For one last time, I urge our friends in government to deliver what the people voted for, to back Theresa May in the best way possible, by softly, quietly, and sensibly backing her original plan.”
Fist
Slamming his fist on the lectern, Mr Johnson said the decisions on the UK’s future could not be “fudged” as Brussels would merely take the opportunity to force the reversal of the 2016 referendum.
He insisted: “Do not believe that we can somehow get it wrong now and fix it later – get out properly next year, or the year after. Total fantasy. The opposite will happen.
“This is the moment to chuck Chequers!”
Johnson’s storming performance was hailed LEADER: May by Tory Brexiteers and seen by many as his pitch for the keys to No.10, but allies of Mrs May hit back last night by suggesting Boris was not “credible and serious”.
Justice Secretary David Gauke said: “Boris always attracts lots of attention but now is the time for a credible and serious plan, and credible serious leadership.
“We have that from Theresa May. There are others who’d struggle to provide that type of leadership.”
Organisers had to open another tier in the hall to accommodate the demand yesterday, with 1,500 squeezing into the hall.