Post by Webster on Sept 9, 2018 23:12:30 GMT
The Guardian: Tories In Civil War Over Johnson "Suicide Vest" Remarks
-Read more: www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/09/boris-johnson-calls-theresa-may-chequers-brexit-plan-suicide-vest
The Conservative party has erupted into open civil war after forceful criticism of Boris Johnson over his description of Theresa May’s Brexit plan as a “suicide vest” prompted counter-accusations of a “project smear” by Downing Street. The furious exchanges, in which a leading Tory backbencher said she would probably quit the party if Johnson became leader, herald a turbulent run-up to the party’s conference this month, which is likely to be dominated by intertwined rows over Brexit and the successor to Theresa May.
Following days of detailed reports about Johnson’s convoluted personal life after he and his wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler, announced they were divorcing, the new row was prompted by his renewed criticism of May’s Chequers plan.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson accused May of repeatedly caving in over Brexit terms to the EU and its chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, saying that “in the talks so far, Brussels gets what Brussels wants”.
He wrote: “Under the Chequers proposal we are set to agree to accept their rules – forever – with no say on the making of those rules. It is a humiliation. We look like a seven-stone weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb gorilla.”
In the most contentious passage, Johnson castigated the so-called backstop plan to ensure no hard Irish border, which would see Northern Ireland effectively remain part of the single market if no other workable solution is found.
Johnson wrote: “We have opened ourselves to perpetual political blackmail. We have wrapped a suicide vest around the British constitution – and handed the detonator to Michel Barnier.”
The analogy brought vehement condemnation from a string of senior Conservatives, including two foreign ministers who worked under Johnson before he resigned as foreign secretary in June in protest at the Chequers plan.
Following days of detailed reports about Johnson’s convoluted personal life after he and his wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler, announced they were divorcing, the new row was prompted by his renewed criticism of May’s Chequers plan.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson accused May of repeatedly caving in over Brexit terms to the EU and its chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, saying that “in the talks so far, Brussels gets what Brussels wants”.
He wrote: “Under the Chequers proposal we are set to agree to accept their rules – forever – with no say on the making of those rules. It is a humiliation. We look like a seven-stone weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb gorilla.”
In the most contentious passage, Johnson castigated the so-called backstop plan to ensure no hard Irish border, which would see Northern Ireland effectively remain part of the single market if no other workable solution is found.
Johnson wrote: “We have opened ourselves to perpetual political blackmail. We have wrapped a suicide vest around the British constitution – and handed the detonator to Michel Barnier.”
The analogy brought vehement condemnation from a string of senior Conservatives, including two foreign ministers who worked under Johnson before he resigned as foreign secretary in June in protest at the Chequers plan.