May’s plea for unity
As ex-Chief Whip says PM ‘must resign’, she reaches out to Labour
THERESA May will relaunch her leadership tomorrow with an appeal to Labour to help deliver Brexit.
In a surprise move, the Prime Minister will reach out to Labour, saying Jeremy Corbyn has a duty to ‘contribute, not just criticise’ after her snap election produced a hung parliament.
Mrs May is seeking to shore up her leadership amid renewed speculation she could face a challenge within months. Former Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell did not deny a reports yesterday that he told a private meeting of MPs that the PM had lost all authority and must quit.
Downing Street has also been forced to deny rumours she could quit this summer. Justice Secretary David Lidington yesterday urged Tory plotters to calm down, saying rumours were being fuelled by MPs who had enjoyed ‘too much sun and too much warm prosecco’ at summer parties in Westminster. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said the vast majority of MPs understood that provoking a leadership challenge would be a disaster. In a THE controversial Tory-DUP deal could face legal action over claims it breaks bribery laws.
Theresa May agreed an extra £1billion in funding for Northern Ireland in return for DUP support on key votes at Westminster, but Green Party campaigner Ciaran McClean says the deal breaches the terms of the Bribery Act. speech tomorrow, Mrs May will insist that her desire to continue in office is ‘undimmed’ despite last month’s shattering election result, which saw her surrender her Commons majority.
But she will also acknowledge her weakened position in Parliament, with an appeal to Labour to help deliver ‘bold’ reforms. She will say Britain faces a period of ‘great national change’ in the wake of last year’s Brexit vote. But she insists she retains an ‘unshakeable sense of purpose’ to build a fairer country.
Some ministers fear they could be left presiding over a ‘zombie parliament’ unable to agree on anything.
But the Prime Minister will urge other parties to co-operate on a range of issues, including Brexit. Mrs May will acknowledge that the election result was ‘not what I wanted’, and has left her facing ‘a rather different reality’ in Parliament.
She says it is vital for the Tories to ‘win the battle of ideas, both in Parliament and the country’. But she will add: ‘I say to the other parties in the House of Commons, come forward with your own views on how we can tackle these challenges as a country. We may not agree on everything, but through debate and discussion… ideas can be clarified and improved and a better way forward found.
‘It is in that spirit that we will take this agenda forward in the months ahead.’ Mrs May will say that Britain is at a ‘critical time in our history’. And she will warn her party that it faces a choice between being ‘timid or bold’.
‘We can play it safe, or we can strike out with renewed courage and vigour, making the case for our ideas and values and challenging our opponents to contribute, not just criticise,’ she will say.
The appeal to Labour will be seen as a high-risk strategy designed to prevent the Government’s legislative programme grinding to a halt.
The acknowledgement that Mrs May could need opposition support to drive through her programme will underline fears that she may be forced to compromise on aspects of Brexit. Her speech tomorrow will be delivered as she launches the Taylor report on the so-called gig economy, which is expected to call for stronger rights for people in insecure jobs.
She will cite it as an example of the kind of issue where political parties can work together.
Diehard Tory Remainers are plotting with Labour to force Mrs May to back down over her insistence that European judges should be barred from meddling in the UK after Brexit. The Prime Minister has said the European Court of Justice should have no role in the UK once it leaves the EU.
But ahead of the publication of the Repeal Bill on Thursday, exculture minister Ed Vaizey yesterday wrote an article with Labour MP Rachel Reeves calling for compromise over the role of the court – allowing the UK to continue participating in the Euratom treaty, governing nuclear co-operation.
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