May clings on to Brexit lifeline
PM removes manifesto pledges from Queen’s Speech as she battles to keep DUP deal on track
THERESA MAY will today put Brexit at the heart of the Queen’s Speech and jettison a raft of key manifesto pledges in the hope that she can remain Prime Minister for at least two more years.
However, Mrs May still has no guarantee that she can form a viable government after the DUP last night threatened to walk away from a proposed deal. The Prime Minister will admit that the general election result “was not the one I hoped for” and that she needs to “gain the trust and confidence of the British people”.
She will start that process by dropping unpopular policies on social care, winter fuel payments, free school meals, foxhunting, grammar schools and the pensions “triple lock”.
In an attempt to cling to power, Mrs May will pack the Queen’s Speech with Brexit legislation on migration and trade, which will dominate parliamentary business until 2019.
Mrs May will also promise to show “humility” and learn the lessons of “the message the electorate sent”.
The State Opening of Parliament will go ahead despite no deal yet being reached with the DUP, without whose support Mrs May cannot command an overall majority.
Last night, the DUP threatened to walk away from the talks altogether, claiming Downing Street was in “complete chaos” and urging the Government to give “greater focus” to the negotiations.
DUP sources said the party should not be “taken for granted” in talks that had not “proceeded in a way that the DUP would have expected”.
There was even speculation that the Conservatives could approach the Liberal Democrats for support now that Tim Farron, the party’s leader – who opposed to any deal with the Tories – is stepping down. It was reported last night that David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, is pressing for his Labour counterpart Sir Keir Starmer to be admitted to the Privy Council so that he can be kept informed of developments to smooth relations with Labour.
Whitehall sources said they were “confident” the DUP would support the Queen’s Speech, even if a deal were to be delayed, with negotiations over money said to be the final sticking point. An agreement could still be announced tomorrow, with Downing Street saying talks were “ongoing” and that no deadline had ever been set.
A spokesman for No10 said: “Both parties are committed to strengthening the Union, combating terrorism, delivering Brexit and delivering prosperity across the whole United Kingdom.”
The DUP is understood to have agreed the content of the Queen’s Speech, which was postponed from Monday because talks over a deal were taking longer than anticipated. The Speech will contain little in the way of new policies.
It will include the Great Repeal Bill, which will transfer EU laws to the British statute books before they can be repealed, and the Government’s White Paper setting out Mrs May’s 12 principles for leaving the EU, including
exiting the single market and the customs union. However, the Prime Minister faces opposition within her own Cabinet. Yesterday Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, used his annual Mansion House speech to the City to promise a “jobs first” Brexit, with business needs prioritised over migration controls, in direct conflict with Mrs May’s plans for leaving the European Union.
He said immigration would be managed but not “shut down” as the country leaves the EU “in a way that prioritises British jobs and underpins Britain’s prosperity”. The Chancellor favours a deal that allows Britain to maintain the benefits of membership of the customs union, but Mrs May and Mr Davis have made it clear that membership of the customs union will end.
Mrs May will tell the Commons: “This Queen’s Speech is about recognising and grasping the opportunities that lie ahead for the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.
“It is about delivering a Brexit deal that works for all parts of the UK while building a stronger, fairer country by strengthening our economy, tackling injustice and promoting opportunity and aspiration.” She will insist that the “priority” of the electorate is “to get Brexit right”, even though other issues dominated the election campaign.
It emerged last night that Mrs May, despite her promise to learn the lessons of the election, told a private meeting of Tory donors at the Savoy Hotel that the snap election – which weakened the SNP and their hopes of a second Scottish independence referendum – “may have saved the United Kingdom”. The Times reported that she also told donors that in other circumstances she could have won a landslide.