MP Andrew Bridgen Hits Back at No. 10 Claim That Ousting Boris Johnson Would Put Brexit at Risk

My colleague Tobias Ellwood sparked a considerable backlash with his suggestion that the UK should rejoin the single market.

Number 10 immediately seized on his comments, claiming that the effort to remove Boris Johnson was “Remainer-inspired” and that only his continuation in office could safeguard Brexit.

Both statements are untrue.

Those expressing deep concerns about the leadership of the Conservative Party and the direction in which we are heading — those who have publicly criticized Boris Johnson and many who have not — come from every wing of the party.

Colleagues such as Steve Baker and David Davis were campaigning for Brexit long before Boris Johnson declared which side he was joining.

I was there. I remember it well.

For many of us, safeguarding Brexit is one of the principal reasons for wanting a change in the party leadership. The anti-Conservative vote Boris is generating represents, in my view, the greatest threat to our continued independence from the European Union.

Those who are still supporting Prime Minister Johnson are starting to sound like the hardcore Corbynites who, for all their love of their leader, could not see the negative feeling towards him outside their echo chambers.

MP Andrew Bridgen

One does not have to look far at the Prime Minister’s approval ratings to understand how bleak the political picture has become.

Figures showing around 60% voter disapproval, with 56% saying the Prime Minister should resign, represent a serious danger to Conservative MPs facing growing anti-Conservative sentiment in their constituencies.

As I wrote in January, this is an existential threat to the Conservative Party itself.

Boris Johnson’s disapproval ratings are moving in the direction once associated with Jeremy Corbyn. Those who continue to support the Prime Minister are beginning to sound like the hardcore Corbynites who, for all their devotion to their leader, could not see the hostility toward him beyond their own echo chambers.

When I recently raised this concern with a fellow Member of Parliament, I was told that “polls mean nothing, they are constantly hijacked by the left.”

Carry on, nothing to see here, as the old adage goes.

Except it would be a huge mistake to ignore the mood of the country — the people who elected us to serve and to whom we ultimately answer.

Even the most tone-deaf Johnson loyalist could hardly have missed the unprecedented booing from the crowd outside St Paul’s Cathedral when Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived to honor Her Majesty’s 70 years of service during the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

Let me be clear.

If we get the opportunity to move on from the leadership of Boris Johnson, the next Prime Minister will have to be an active Brexiteer. We need someone who has been, and remains, a political signpost for the nation — not simply a weathervane.

One of the principal reasons behind the Conservative Party’s resounding majority in 2019 was the promise to get Brexit done.

The vast majority of the party membership supported Brexit. Thanks to the 2019 intake of MPs, that support is also strongly represented within the Parliamentary Conservative Party and across our wider supporter base.

Carry on, nothing to see here, an old adage goes. Except, it would be a huge mistake to ignore the mood of the nation, the people elected us to serve and those who we ultimately answer to.

MP Andrew Bridgen

It is telling that another colleague, Tom Tugendhat — a Remainer who sees himself as a potential leadership candidate — came out strongly against Tobias Ellwood’s comments.

Tugendhat said the decision on Brexit had been made and that “we need a deal British people control, not foreign laws.”

Clearly, Tugendhat can read the mood and configuration of the Conservative Party. He understands that only someone firmly committed to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union can credibly lead the party after Boris Johnson.

Let me be clear. If we get the opportunity to move on from the leadership of Boris Johnson, the next Prime Minister will have to be an active Brexiteer.

MP Andrew Bridgen

However, given the experience of having a non-Brexiteer leading the Conservative Party — as was the case with Theresa May — while our post-Brexit future is still in its early stages, I do not believe the membership is ready to hand the party to a former Remain supporter, however sincere their Damascene conversion may now be.

There are plenty of potential leadership contenders who were active supporters of Brexit, and they are not necessarily confined to the Cabinet.

I also see a strong possibility of Sir Keir Starmer — who supported a second referendum and twice backed Jeremy Corbyn’s campaigns to become Prime Minister — joining forces with the Liberal Democrats and/or the SNP, both of which remain committed to closer ties with the European Union.

I believe such a political outcome would represent the greatest threat not only to Brexit but to the political direction of our country.

That prospect should focus the electorate’s mind.

Electing a fresh leader and changing the political direction of the Conservative Party represent, in my view, our best chance of safeguarding the legacy and future of Brexit while also securing a Conservative government after the next general election.

This briefing was sent to me yesterday by a fellow Conservative. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to disagree with much of its content.

Read it for yourself and come to your own decision.

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