DAVID DAVIS’S MANIFESTO
DAVID DAVIS today steals a march on Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson by setting out what will be seen as his manifesto for Downing Street – including adopting a much more militant attitude towards Brussels.
With both former Cabinet Ministers on high alert this weekend for the sudden triggering of a no-confidence vote in Theresa May, the former Brexit Secretary uses a trenchant article in today’s Mail on Sunday – below – to slam the Prime Minister for proposing to extend the transition period for withdrawing from the EU by a year.
Arguing that Mrs May has ‘managed to anger not just Leavers but ardent Remainers as well’, Mr Davis calls for a change in tactics to a more uncompromising approach.
And he uses fears that a no-deal exit from the EU could lead to planes being grounded as ammunition for his case.
In his article Mr Davis argues: ‘European flights would still need our airspace in order to fly to the USA. That should be enough to focus minds on a sensible outcome’.
Mr Davis also says that the temporary economic disruption of a no-deal withdrawal could be offset by fiscal policies, such as encouraging UK companies to spend a chunk of their £613billion cash pile.
His intervention comes as he and Mr Johnson jockey for position, three months after they both resigned from the Cabinet over Mrs May’s Chequers plan to keep the UK close to Brussels’ rules on goods.
Supporters of Mr Johnson have been irritated by the surge in Mr Davis’s activity, arguing that his time as Brexit Secretary makes him complicit in the current crisis and that he would be ‘painfully out of his depth’ as Prime Minister.
But allies of Mr Davis are attempting a more conciliatory approach, suggesting that Mr Johnson could run as Mr Davis’s deputy on a joint ticket.
Both men signed an open letter last week saying that Mrs May would not be forgiven by the British people if Brexit was reduced to a ‘choreographed show of resistance followed by surrender’.
But when asked about the joint ticket idea yesterday, one pro-Boris MP said sarcastically: ‘How kind of them.’
Speculation about how close rebels are to triggering a no-confidence motion in Mrs May has been growing since the Prime Minister signalled she was prepared to extend the transition period of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.
Under current rules, 15 per cent of Tory MPs must write to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, to trigger the vote. That means 48 of the current 315 Tory MPs must take action.
One well placed Brexiteer, who has been keeping a list of who has written letters, put the figure in the
‘European flights need our airspace to reach the USA’
early 40s at the start of last week. Two more letters were submitted on Thursday. A source close to the 1922 Committee said: ‘At this rate it won’t be long.’
If the 48 letters are received, Sir Graham would inform No 10 before ordering a secret ballot on whether Mrs May should stay as leader.
The Prime Minister could theoretically stay on if she won a simple majority, but realistically, if more than 100 Tory MPs failed to back her, then she would be under intense pressure to step down.
There would then be a leadership contest with candidates nominated and seconded by fellow MPs. If more than two contenders emerge, a series of ballots of MPs is then held, with the politician with the least votes removed at each stage.
When only two names remain, they are put to a vote among the wider party membership.
The contest usually takes three months, but members of the 1922 executive are understood to be looking at reducing it to under four weeks if it is called before Brexit, to allow the victor to take charge of the negotiations.
Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, who has sent a letter to Sir Graham, said yesterday: ‘It could all be done within two or three weeks by having digital hustings and fasttracking the process’.
Brexit negotiations remain dead-
locked over the problem of Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister explained to European leaders last week why she could not accept EU proposals for the Irish border, and they cancelled a planned summit for next month as ‘not enough progress had been achieved’ in the talks.
Cabinet Ministers are also growing increasingly alarmed about whether the country is prepared for a no-deal Brexit, and have said that ordinary citizens needed to make their own preparations, too. One Cabinet source cited the example of haulage drivers, who will have to start applying now for special ECMT permits if they want to drive on the continent after March. ‘They need to apply for them now – and there is a limited number of them.’
Labour MP Ian Murray, from the Best for Britain ‘soft’ Brexit group, said: ‘This is yet another burden facing truckers and businesses. The Government is creating a nightmare of red tape and extra burdens. They are writing a lot of reports and then not doing the practical things needed.
‘They are kicking the can down the road and we are running out of tarmac.’
An ally of Mr Davis said last night: ‘This is not a crisis of David’s making, but he is the right man to step into the breach and steer Britain through Brexit.’