Cabinet Minister Amber Rudd quits Conservative Party after Boris Johnson sacks 21 party rebels
One of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet Ministers has resigned in protest at his sacking of 21 party rebels. And she had a devastating parting shot for the embattled British PM.
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Boris Johnson will risk jail or resign as prime minister as he sticks to his principles over Brexit, as one of his key ministers quit saying she no longer believes he was trying for a deal.
Amber Rudd resigned from her roles as work and pensions secretary and minister for women in a tweet early on Sunday morning Australian time.
She said: “I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government’s main objective.”
Ms Rudd also hit out at the treatment of her colleagues, who were booted from the party for going against Mr Johnson’s no deal preparations.
“I must also address the assault on decency and democracy that took place last week when you sacked 21 talented, loyal One Nation Conservatives,” she wrote in her resignation letter to Mr Johnson.
The MP for Hastings and Rye supported Remain in 2016 referendum.
It is the latest resignation after the PM’s brother Jo Johnson walked away from the front bench earlier in the week.
Mr Johnson has told colleagues he will refuse to beg for more time from the European Union for Brexit despite being compelled under a law due to be signed off by the Queen on Monday.
He can either resign as prime minister and force extreme-left Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to try to form a government, or simply ignore the legislation.
Now the Brexit chaos is likely to worsen this week, as parliament was due to return on Monday with a vote on whether to hold a snap election.
It comes as tensions rose among pro and anti-Brexit protesters outside Westminster in central London.
Mr Johnson has been warned he would face jail if he pushed on with a no-deal Brexit despite the new law demanding he write the EU a grovelling letter asking for more time by October 19.
Director of Public Prosecutions Lord MacDonald told Sky News: “It is by convention that if you are found guilty of defying a court order then you are jailed.”
“A refusal in the face of that would amount to contempt of court which could find that person in prison.”
But Mr Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings, who has been behind his hardline approach and often quotes Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, has said he has a “different interpretation” of the law.
There remains a cloud hanging over just how Britain will get out of the EU, even if there is a time extension as MPs simply do not agree.
Patients relying on imported life-saving medicines have begun a campaign, amid fears they will be left stranded if the UK crashes out without a deal, despite contingency plans put in place the National Health Service.
Matt of Nottinghamshire said: “I need insulin to live and the insulin I’ve relied on for six years is imported entirely from the EU.”
There have also been reports from supermarkets that there may be short term food shortages.
Mr Johnson, with his latest gamble, appears to be taking a leaf out of James Bond’s Casino Royale film script, as he doubles down on his bet with all his chips on the table.
He will become the shortest serving Prime Minister since George Canning in 1827, who died in office if he loses.
If the bet pays off, Mr Johnson could get Brexit done, win a majority and become a historic figure mentioned in the same breath as his hero Winston Churchill.
British voters are unlikely to get their say until November, after the Halloween deadline passes, because of a voting pact between Labour, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats.
BRITISH VOTERS LIKELY TO GO TO POLLS IN NOVEMBER
British voters will now likely to go to the polls in November after Boris Johnson spent the night at the Queen’s castle in Balmoral explaining the chaotic week in parliament.
Opposition parties are joining forces to spoil Mr Johnson’s wish for an early poll before the October 31 deadline for Britain to leave the European Union.
They will either abstain, or vote against, Mr Johnson’s bid for an early election when parliament returns on Monday, leaving it almost impossible for him to get the 434 votes required.
Mr Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds visited the Queen where he had a private audience with the monarch.
The couple spent the night at Balmoral as Mr Johnson continues to war game a strategy to prevent him from becoming Britain’s shortest serving prime minister.
He is now forced under a bill passed in parliament this week to seek an extension to Brexit until January 31 unless a deal, which is unlikely, gets done.
Mr Johnson, who has said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask for more time, refused to commit to following the new law.
“That is not a hypothesis I’m willing to contemplate. I want us to get this thing done,” Mr Johnson said.
It was unclear whether he meant he would resign or simply ignore the law that demanded he write a letter to the EU begging for more time on October 19.
Mr Johnson said he found no joy in sacking 21 colleagues who voted against him earlier this week, which in part led to his brother Jo resigning as a minister.
“I want to be very clear, it grieves me deeply. These are friends of mine and I’ve worked with them for many years,” he told Sky News.
“But we have to get Brexit done and we were being very clear about the risks we are running now in snarling up the process of leaving the EU, in parliament.
“Of course I’m going to reach out to those colleagues and try and find ways of building bridges.”
Labour, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats have combined forces to derail Mr Johnson’s plans.
They are pushing for an election in November to completely avoid the chances of Mr Johnson crashing the UK out of the EU on the Halloween deadline.
Mr Johnson was easily ahead in the polls taken earlier this week, with Labour on only 22 per cent in a first past the post voting system.
The Conservative Party has continued to paint Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a chicken for dodging the election.
Their Twitter account has also jumped in, posting a picture of Mr Corbyn in a chicken suit, with the caption: “Hey (KFC), we’ve found an even bigger chicken than you.”
In the corner of the image used in the tweet, a label reads “JFC”, in reference to food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), with the tagline “totally spineless chicken”.
Hey @KFC_UKI, we’ve found an even bigger chicken than you. pic.twitter.com/9gBVe0p06a
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) September 6, 2019
The party has even delivered journalists in Westminster a chicken lunch in a stunt to reinforce their message.
Mr Corbyn has been widely criticised for his hard left policies, including plans to increase a range of taxes.
There are fears he would be a wrecking ball to the economy, with plans to take up to 10 per cent shareholdings in UK companies and use the proceeds to pay dividends to workers.
However many major companies were already owned by workers through their pension funds, meaning it would be a robbing Peter to pay Paul exercise.
A UK court ruled that Mr Johnson’s controversial plan to prorogue, or suspend parliament for most of September was legal.
The developments came as Johnson was battling a firestorm with Scottish National Party and Labour plotting a plan to delay an election and bring on a no-confidence vote as early as Monday.
The alliance would derail Mr Johnson for a second chance at a snap poll to finally break the Brexit deadlock crippling the UK.
Mr Johnson remains firm in his strategy, refusing to back away from his pledge to get the UK out of Europe by October 31.
Sources close to Mr Johnson told News Corp Australia that No.10 was sticking to their guns despite the unfolding chaos.
“They’re pretty relaxed about it,” the source said.
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Mr Johnson ploughed on with his Brexit rally cries today, telling a crowd in Yorkshire that he would not go to Brussels to seek an extension despite being forced to under a bill passed this week.
“I’d rather be dead in a ditch,” he said.
“It cost a billion pounds a month, it achieves absolutely nothing, what on earth is the point of further delay, it’s totally pointless.”
Mr Johnson made his speech in front of a group of police who were the backdrop to his press conference.
He was late to speak and one of the police officers appeared to be ill and had to sit down as the TV cameras rolled.
The House of Lords passed a bill to allow for an extension to Brexit until January 31 if the EU agrees after it has been supported by Labour and Tory rebels.
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A vote on a general election failed earlier this week, with Labour MPs abstaining.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he would only support a general election if the Brexit extension was given royal assent by the Queen, which could be done by Monday.
The date of that election remains unclear, with Labour and Liberal Democrat parties trying to delay it until after October 31 to give Mr Johnson no chance of leaving the EU without a deal.
Brexit party leader Nigel Farage remains the wildcard in case of an election, and has offered Mr Johnson a deal to support the Conservatives if he went for a no-deal Brexit.
Sir Nicholas Soames, Winston Churchill’s grandson who was kicked out of the Conservative Party when he voted against a no-deal Brexit, said this week’s events had all been part of Mr Johnson’s plan.
“This was all completely set up,” he said.
A vote on the early election was expected on Monday before parliament was prorogued, or suspended, by Mr Johnson.
Originally published as Cabinet Minister Amber Rudd quits Conservative Party after Boris Johnson sacks 21 party rebels