Iain DUNCAN SMITH
It has long been obvious that the only person who has the ability to resolve this Brexit impasse and get us out of the EU is Boris Johnson. That Boris has been elected by two-thirds of the party membership, at a time of national crisis, is vital because he has a clear mandate to take us out of the EU by Oct 31.
It has, I believe, become an uncomfortable fact for some who want to stop Brexit that David Cameron made it clear that the British people would decide whether we left the EU.
The subsequent failure of the Government to deliver on that pledge has led to a crisis of trust with the British public and the very damaging creation of the Brexit Party.
That is why Boris was so unequivocal in the campaign that we leave by Oct 31 or we will be punished by the voters who, buffeted by Parliament’s indecision, are both angry and desperate for us to deliver on that pledge.
Now he has been elected, the challenge really begins. Put simply, our new prime minister has 100 days
‘The task ahead of Boris is enormous enough without being undermined, yet if we support him the opportunities for us are enormous’
to save not only my party but, even more importantly, our great country.
To do that, he needs to show that our number one priority is to be ready to leave, deal or no deal by Oct 31.
This will take real determination and leadership.
We have all watched with growing anger as the necessary preparation to leave has been blocked. Revealingly, Martin Selmayr, the EU secretary general, recently admitted that they knew the UK was unprepared for a no-deal Brexit. That alone meant that the UK’S negotiating hand was non-existent. After all, if we weren’t prepared to leave without a deal, then it followed that we would take anything from the EU. Sadly that’s what we ended up with.
To avoid that sort of “cap in hand” humiliation, Boris will need to ensure, first, that he has colleagues around him who are as determined as he is to deliver on his pledge to leave and that preparation is a top priority – a Churchillian “Action this Day”. Vitally, the engine of government – civil servants – must also be signed up to this objective and he must make it clear to them that they, as much as the politicians, must deliver this project.
Of course, his government cannot only be about Brexit. It will need to have a full reforming agenda on areas such as policing, defence, social care, social justice, education and taxation.
These issues were covered by Boris during the campaign and he must be prepared to deliver on them, particularly his pledge to help middle-income earners and the poorest trapped in high taxes. Yet we all know that these 100 days will be dominated by Brexit.
However, even as I write this, I am concerned that over the last few days, a group of my colleagues, many ministers, have said they might vote against a Boris-led government in a vote of confidence. The simple rule I have always followed is that, no matter how much you are at odds with your party, you support it in a vote of confidence. This surely becomes clearer as we look across at the angry faces of the Marxist leadership of the Labour Party. Would we really wish to risk putting them in government?
The task ahead of Boris is enormous enough without being undermined, yet if we support him the opportunities for us are also enormous.
You don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at this from a recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation study of low income voters: “The Tories have considerable potential amongst [low income voters] because they are closer to low-income voters on issues like Europe and crime. If the Conservatives switch toward an economic message that has more resonance among low-income voters they could unlock even more support.”
Boris is right, we must leave the EU by Oct 31 and put Brexit behind us.
We can then unite the country and defeat Corbyn. After that, I believe the best is yet to be.
Iain Duncan Smith is a former leader of the Conservative Party