The Daily Telegraph - 19.08.2019

T

he Remainers’ plan to replace
Boris Johnson with Ken Clarke
appeared to hit a snag when it
seemed like the last person to learn
about it was the veteran MP himself.
Returning from a holiday in
Norway, the former chancellor
declared on Friday: “I haven’t been
taking part in any talks with anybody
for the last fortnight. I’ve been on the
phone to one or two people in the last

couple of days just to find out what the

devil’s going on.”

But the 79-year-old’s claim to having

been out of the loop regarding plots by

his fellow Remainers does appear, at

the very least, curious.

Speculation that he could be just the

unifying elder statesman Remainers

need to unite a fractured House of

Commons certainly predates his trip to

the fjords. It would be odd if it hadn’t

reached the ears of a man who, after

nearly 50 years in the Commons, is

impeccably well connected.

Some Brexiteers believe that his

show of modesty now is a ruse. “Of

course it is,” one senior Eurosceptic

says. “He wants to act like he is

selflessly taking charge as his

colleagues cry out – ‘Step forward and

save us, Brother Ken!’ ” One member of

the ERG warned that the “Remoaner

fifth column know that Tory rebels

cannot stomach having Corbyn as PM,

but cheeky Ken can appeal to them

all”, while another told me, “I fear it’s a

genuine problem.”

Others, however, are not so sure

whether the idea of the veteran Tory

backbencher seizing power is worth

taking seriously. “We have a lot of silly

season stuff going on at the moment.

This is probably the most extreme

example,” said one senior Tory

backbencher.

Suspicion that Mr Clarke, who has

always been open about his pro-

Europe views, is not averse to some

Westminster plotting was raised back

in February. The affable Father of the

House has built up a number of

long-standing political relationships

with figures across the Commons,

including a 20-year friendship with

John Bercow. The pair raised

eyebrows when they were spotted

breaking bread in February at the

Kennington Tandoori, a popular

curry-house beloved by

parliamentarians, just a few weeks

after Speaker Bercow, a target of

increasing Brexiteer ire, had told his

critics that he was unafraid to upset

constitutional traditionalists by

changing the rules as he saw fit.

“The Speaker socialises over dinner

with friends from across the House on

a regular basis,” a spokesman insisted

in response to allegations that they

had been indulging in a so-called

“Poppadom plot” to derail Brexit.

The man himself has indicated he

would “not object” to becoming prime

minister in order to stop a no-deal

Brexit, remarking that it was “not a

senseless suggestion”. Looking back

over his career, in which he tried three

times to secure the Tory leadership,

Mr Clarke showed he still longed to be

prime minister, even if wistfully.

“I belong to the club of the best

prime ministers we never had,” he

said. “It would now require a fairly

freak series of events for me to make

it, but I’m never going to say never.”

Yet some Brexiteers fear that freak

series of events could soon arise given,

as one Brexiteer MP puts it, the fact

Remainers “will stop at nothing as

Oct 31 approaches to stop Brexit”.

If one thing is clear, it’s that Mr

Clarke’s protestations of ignorance

have a long way to go if they are to

convince his pro-Brexit colleagues that

he doesn’t still have half an eye on

walking through that famous front

door as prime minister.

Countdown to Brexit

Forty Tory MPs ready to be rebels in

By Christopher Hope
Chief PolitiCal CorresPondent

AS MANY as 40 Tory MPs are now
backing a bid led by ex-Cabinet minis-
ters Philip Hammond and David Gauke
to stop Britain leaving the European
Union without a deal on Oct 31.
Sources in the group – dubbed the
“Gauke-ward Squad” – say the numbers
of MPs who now support the rebellion
has jumped from 21 to nearly 40 after
details of the group emerged last week.
The size of the potential rebellion
will increase pressure on Boris Johnson
to avoid putting the question of the UK
leaving the EU to a vote of MPs before
the UK is scheduled to leave on Oct 31.
Mr Johnson and his team are ada-
mant that the best way of securing a
new deal with Brussels is to make clear
that the UK is ready and willing to leave
without a deal.
Last week 21 Tory MPs, including for-
mer Cabinet ministers Mr Hammond,
Mr Gauke, David Lidington, Greg Clark
and Rory Stewart, broke cover to make
clear they are fighting a no-deal exit.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, they said
they were “alarmed” by his negotiating

red lines, “which on the face of it, ap-

pear to eliminate the chance of reach-

ing agreement with the EU”.

Sources close to the group said that

the number of Conservative MPs back-

ing their position was now significantly

higher, with many of the additional sup-

porters reluctant to be named in public.

There are at least 10 more Tory MPs

who will back the group, and poten-

tially a further seven, the source said.

“As things go on we will get a better

idea of numbers,” they added.

The source said: “It should not come

as any surprise that Number 10 is try-

ing to pick people off that group on the

basis that the strategy is not to go to no

deal. There are lots of back-channel

conversations.”

No meetings are planned this week,

with key players such as Mr Hammond

and Mr Stewart, away from London.

However, the group of Tory MPs is

understood to be talking regularly on

the phone and on social media. One

source said it will spend the next fort-

night on “discussions about strategy”.

Another source claimed that meetings

had been arranged in hotels away from

Westminster to plot how to stop no deal

when MPs return on Sept 3.

A source close to the group said:

“There are discussions about strategy

and how to use the minimum possible

legislative process to make sure that

Parliament does have a say on this. This

is not about bringing down a Conserva-

tive government.”

A key focus for the Remainer Tory

MPs is how to use legislation ostensibly

linked to governing Northern Ireland

as a way to pass legislation to stop the

UK leaving the EU on Oct 31.

“That provides a useful hook in the

first week and more likely on Sept 9.

That would be a sensible direction of

travel that also avoids having to talk

about confidence votes.”

Mr Johnson made clear his frustra-

tion with the Remainer Tories in reply

to the letter from the “Gauke-ward

squad” which was leaked to the Mail on

Sunday yesterday.

Mr Johnson said: “The EU can see

the public debate among Parliamen-

tarians and they have been told pri-

vately by some British politicians that

Parliament will frustrate our exit on 31

October.

“Some of you have said publicly that

you are determined to try to stop us

leaving the EU on that date if we cannot

secure a deal.

“It is as plain as a pikestaff that Brus-

sels or the EU 27 will simply not com-

promise as long as they believe there is

the faintest possibility that Parliament

can block Brexit on 31 October”.

Size of potential rebellion

against no-deal Brexit will

increase pressure on PM

to avoid vote on leaving EU

Blame your food, not Brexit,

party chairman tells Oliver

Poet Laureate disappoints MPs

by not penning Brexit poem

Tough Singapore-style border

controls will start overnight

By Danielle Sheridan
PolitiCal CorresPondent

JAMES CLEVERLY has clashed with
Jamie Oliver after the chef blamed
Brexit for the failure of his restaurant
empire.
The Tory party chairman and cabi-
net minister said the demise of Oliver’s
chains was nothing to do with Brexit
but due to the poor quality and presen-
tation of food Jamie’s Italian dished up.
“I recently ate at a Jamie’s restaurant
and the quality of food just didn’t
match the price,” he tweeted.
“The staff were friendly but the pres-
entation was poor and the food was

bland. In a competitive ‘family restau-

rant’ market you need to get the basics

right.”

In BBC Radio 4’s Jamie Oliver: A Life

Through Food, the celebrity chef laid

the blame for the collapse of his restau-

rant empire squarely on Brexit, claim-

ing people had been eating out less

since the referendum in 2016 due to

uncertainty.

“The world changed, the high street

changed ... Then, when there’s that

chain reaction, throw a bit of Brexit in,

say the B word, confidence goes and

people’s habits changed.”

Oliver did not respond to requests

for a comment.

By Christopher Hope

THE Poet Laureate has disappointed

anti-EU MPs by saying that he will not

create a poem to mark Brexit on Oct 31.

Simon Armitage, who was appointed

to the role in May, told The Daily Tele-

graph that he had “no plans” to mark

exit day, prompting MPs such as Jacob

Rees-Mogg to try to inspire him.

Mr Armitage said he would not be

marking Britain’s exit because he has

already produced a “film poem” which

was published in March before he was

appointed poet laureate.

Mr Rees-Mogg even offered a spe-

cially composed limerick in an attempt

to jolt Mr Armitage’s imagination: “The

Poet Laureate used to be paid in sherry/

Which made him decidedly merry/

Now he is paid in hard cash/ Which

makes him awfully slapdash/ But when

it comes to Brexit he needn’t be wary.”

Editorial Comment: Page 15

By Christopher Hope

FREEDOM of movement by European

Union nationals into the UK will end

overnight from Oct 31 in the event of a

no-deal Brexit, Priti Patel has signalled.

The new Home Secretary has made

clear that she wants the firm new ap-

proach to apply at the UK’s borders as

soon as Britain has left the EU.

The tough stance risks throwing air-

ports into chaos, if it is strictly applied

when families return from their Octo-

ber school half-term breaks.

Under plans being considered by the

Home Office, Britain could implement

a tough Singapore-style immigration

system to count people coming in and

out of the UK. Ms Patel has sent officials

to Singapore to “understand how a

well-functioning immigration IT sys-

tem is developed. Specifically, ensur-

ing we can count people in and out the

country”.

A source close to Ms Patel told The

Daily Telegraph last night: “We are

leaving the EU on Oct 31 and putting in

place plans to ensure the border is

ready. The public do not want an immi-

gration system that facilitates cross-

border crime and restricts the

Government’s ability to remove con-

victed criminals just because they

come from an EU country.”

He pleads ignorance, but Leavers fear Ken Clarke has his eye on No 10

Commentary

By Asa Bennett

tary

‘He wants to act like he is

selflessly taking charge as

his colleagues cry out, “Step

forward and save us, Ken!”’

Simon Armitage, the

Poet Laureate, has

said that he will not

produce a new poem

to mark Brexit day

Jeremy Corbyn

will today

promise a

revolution in

British politics

akin to the

Thatcher

landslide in 1979

if Boris Johnson

calls a snap

election this

autumn.

Promising

higher taxes for

the wealthiest

and the

nationalisation

of utilities, he

will say that “a

general election

triggered by the

Tory Brexit

crisis will be a

crossroads for

our country”. In

a tub-thumping

speech designed

to show that

Labour is ready

to fight, he will

say that an

election “will be

a once-in-a-

generation

chance for a real

change of

direction.

Things cannot

go on as they

were.”

James

Cleverly, Tory

party chairman,

dismissed the

move as “a

cynical attempt

to seize power

by a man who

would wreck

the economy

and won’t stand

up for Britain.”

Corbyn rally cry Labour

pledges political revolution

The four divisions of the Remain alliance

Boris Johnson’s

Brexit plans are

encountering

resistance from

several factions

within

Parliament, with

the opposition

groups each

targeting a

different route to

ensuring Britain

does not leave the

EU with no deal

on Oct 31, or

indeed fails to

leave at all.

PAUL GROVER AND JEFF GILBERT FOR THE TELEGRAPH; BLOOMBERG; PA; GETTY

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Cross-party-led national government

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson mooted the

idea of a national government led by either Ken

Clarke or Harriet Harman, the longest-serving

male and female MPs in the House of

Commons. Mr Clarke said that the idea of

him becoming PM was “not inconceivable”

while Ms Harman did not explicitly back

Ms Swinson’s suggestion.

Labour-led

national

government

Jeremy Corbyn has

proposed the idea of

him taking over as

caretaker prime

minister, which would

see the Labour leader

negotiate an

extension to the

Brexit deadline of

Oct 31 and then call

an election. The

idea, backed by

John McDonnell,

has failed to gather

cross-party support.

Mr Corbyn took

umbrage at

suggestions that

anyone but him

should be PM, saying:

“Labour is the largest

opposition party by far,

that is the process

that must be

followed.”

4 ***^ Monday 19 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph

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