THERESA May is once again under intense pressure to reconsider her Brexit plans after Transport Minister Jo Johnson quit, warning the UK faced a choice between “vassalage” under her proposed deal or the “chaos” of crashing out of the EU.
The Prime Minister also came under fire from Arlene Foster, who insisted the DUP would reject May’s current proposals if they go to a parliamentary vote.
Johnson, who also resigned as Minister for London, is now able to vote against the Brexit deal at Westminster and called for the public to be given a second referendum.
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Jo Johnson has received the backing of big brother Boris
The senior Tory, who campaigned for Remain, follows his Leave-supporting brother Boris Johnson out of May’s government.
The former foreign secretary quit in July in protest over the Prime Minister’s handling of Brexit.
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In a blog explaining his decision, Jo Johnson said: “It has become increasingly clear to me that the withdrawal agreement, which is being finalised in Brussels and Whitehall even as I write, will be a terrible mistake. Indeed, the choice being presented to the British people is no choice at all.
“The first option is the one the Government is proposing: an agreement that will leave our country economically weakened, with no say in the EU rules it must follow and years of uncertainty for business.
“The second option is a no-deal Brexit that I know as a transport minister will inflict untold damage on our nation.
“To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis.”
He added: “Given that the reality of Brexit has turned out to be so far from what was once promised, the democratic thing to do is to give the public the final say.”
Boris Johnson backed his brother, saying: “We may not have agreed about Brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible UK position.”
Meanwhile, DUP leader Foster, pictured above, warned there were “many others” in the Conservative Party who could also not support May’s proposals.
Foster said “no unionist” could back the Prime Minister’s apparent advocacy of a withdrawal treaty that includes a backstop measure to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
In a leaked letter to the DUP, May insisted such a backstop would never come into force.
Foster said her party was opposed to any deal that saw Northern Ireland operate under a different regulatory arrangement to the rest of the UK.
“We would not be able to support this if it came to Parliament in the form that it is in the letter,” Foster said.
“She still has to have a Cabinet meeting in relation to this matter and we believe there is a chance for her to reflect on the fact we will not be able to support it in its current form.”
Asked by the BBC if she trusted May, Foster replied: “It’s not a question of trusting the Prime Minister, it is a question of what her proposals are for exiting the European Union.
“She has sent us where she believes she is currently at, and remember this is before she goes to Brussels to negotiate with them on what they believe is possible, but currently, as it stands, we could not support her proposals."
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