Tories voice dim views of the Boris Johnson debacle
Boris Johnson’s resignation shook up Westminster, but left grass-roots Conservatives unimpressed, as political editor David Williamson found out...
THERESA May’s hopes of uniting Brexiteers and pro-EU Tories behind a shared vision for how the country should leave the EU evaporated when Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson quit the cabinet.
The UK Parliament was then gripped with speculation about a possible challenge to Mrs May’s leadership.
But far beyond the Westminster bubble, rank-and-file Conservative activists – the men and women who pound the pavements in towns and villages across Wales to help the party win election – are watching with deep concern.
This is a “worrying” time, with some alarmed by what they see as an act of outright “disloyalty”, and unhappy at the thought of either a leadership or a general election.
Mary Christine Doyle, a Conservative activist in Colwyn Bay, described the situation as “just chaotic and sad, really,” adding: “I just hope she doesn’t pull a general election.”
She has no desire to see Boris Johnson take the helm of the Conservatives – and has much sympathy for Mrs May.
“I don’t like Boris, to be quite honest with you,” she said. “He’s a loose cannon, very unpredictable, and quite honestly I don’t think we need people like him...
“We need people with their feet on the ground and I’ve always liked Theresa May for that. She’s very solid [and] I think, really, Mr Cameron has put her in a very difficult position.
“He did the referendum and because it didn’t work out as he wanted he walked. Well, what signal is that putting out to the kids of today? – If things don’t work out for you, you just get up and walk out.
“It just beggars belief. You’ve got to stand by things and just do what you can.”
Ms Doyle, who represents Rhiw ward on Conwy council, described the frustration on both sides of the Brexit divide.
“People, whether they voted for Brexit or not, now are completely fed up with everything,” she said. “They are so confused... You just wonder where it’s all going to go.”
Rod McKerlich, a Cardiff councillor for the Radyr and Morganstown ward, was not sorry to see the Foreign Secretary and Brexit Secretary resign.
He said: “My first thoughts were, ‘It’s about time.’ It was always a bit of a bluff putting them and Liam Fox in charge of negotiating the deal.
“It was virtually saying, ‘Look, you’ve got us into this mess, now let’s see if you can get us out of it and if you can’t then we’ll hang it round your necks.’
“And they have spent two years going precisely nowhere. Instead of having the honesty to admit that they’ve got nowhere, they are blaming the people who all along thought it was a bad idea.”
If there is a leadership contest, he predicted, “the lady will stand” and “will win”.
But he gave a withering account of the Brexit saga so far, saying: “The whole thing has been a mess right from the word go... You’ve got this ridiculous situation where the people who are meant to implement the deal didn’t believe in it.”
Di Clements, from Narberth in Pembrokeshire, does not want to see the Prime Minister ousted from Downing Street.
She was “disappointed that David Davis and Boris Johnson have left” and now wants the party to support the PM in the challenges she faces.
Ms Clements, who represents the Martletwy ward on Pembrokeshire’s council, said she had not picked up on feeling of betrayal among activists in the wake of Chequers’ statement.
“I think Theresa May is doing a very difficult job and I think she should be left to finish the job that she started,” she said. “We all know that she wasn’t keen to leave anyway and I give her credit for trying her very best and I think we should rally round and support her.”
William Graham is a familiar figure to Conservatives across southeast Wales, having represented the region in the Assembly until the last election.
He argues that Mr Johnson and Mr Davis should have resigned earlier if they could not support the position on Brexit agreed last week at Chequers.
He said: “It was very disloyal, as I say, to the Prime Minister and to the party and for that matter not in the country’s interest.”
Mr Graham suggested the idea of a Johnson premiership may not win the support it might have attracted in the past.
He said: “I think his star has waned... He is certainly eccentric but I haven’t seen any positives.
“If he’d had some successes [as] Foreign Secretary that would be a plus... But nobody can point, I don’t think, to any one thing and say, ‘Yes, you’ve really made your mark there.’”
Gwilym Williams, from Newbridge-on-Wye, is president of Brecon and Radnor Conservatives and can see a scenario in which a new leader may be needed.
He said: “The country voted to leave. I’d like to see that happening without remaining in Europe or ruled by Europe...
“If Theresa May can’t deliver it, then somebody else should take over the leadership and do it.”
He admires David Davis and Jacob Rees-Mogg, whom he says “talks sense”, but is “not sure about Boris”.
This could be an opportunity to make progress, according to Penny Jones, a Monmouth councillor who represents the Raglan ward.
She admires Mrs May, whom she describes as “a very strong lady”.
Commenting on recent dramas, she said: “Perhaps it’s a good thing, perhaps it’s a step forward, don’t you think? Perhaps we can actually go forwards under her leadership,”
Gordon Kemp, a well-known Vale of Glamorgan councillor for the Rhoose ward, said he would be “disappointed” if Mrs May’s opponents decided to stage a leadership contest.
He said: “I was surprised by both resignations, especially as everything seemed to have been agreed on Friday... My hope is that Theresa May can proceed in the way she and the rest of the cabinet wants to go; I would support what she’s doing.”
The Cardiff councillor for the Rhiwbina ward wants Mrs May to stay in place and is not shocked that Mr Johnson has left the government.
He said: “Obviously, Boris and the Prime Minister, I think, have had their occasional disagreement and sooner or later I suspected Boris would be out of the Cabinet.”
Commenting on the extent of support for Mr Johnson in Wales, he said: “There are certainly clusters where he has support but equally there are clusters where some of the actions he has taken have not gone down so well... But obviously, his first hurdle, if he wants the leadership, is to make sure he gets his name on the ballot paper.”
Mr Robson does not expect the issue of Brexit to play a major role in a contest between AMs to lead the Conservative Assembly group.
He said: “The Welsh party has moved on from Brexit and we recognise that Brexit has to happen... I’m looking forward to seeing their polices and what direction they want to take the Welsh Conservatives party in, as I’m sure all members are.”