Queen’s ‘common ground’ call seen as veiled reference top sort out toxic Brexit debate

Queen Elizabeth II’s rebuke to warring politicians has been interpreted as a subtle royal call to sort out the Brexit mess.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, right, with PM Theresa May. The Queen has called for an end to the Brexit feud. Picture: Jonathan Brady/AFP

The Queen has urged the country to “seek out the common ground” in a sign of royal nervousness over the divisions caused by Brexit.

Delivering a rebuke to warring politicians, she urged Britons to respect, not attack, one another while “never losing sight of the bigger picture”.

Her intervention came 64 days before Britain is due to leave the European Union, with no settled plan on how it will be achieved.

There are expected to be more interventions with a similar tone and message from other members of the royal family in the coming days, suggesting a concerted attempt to narrow the divisions in politics and society.

The Queen was speaking at the centenary of the Sandringham Women’s Institute, allowing her to draw a stark contrast between political behaviour today and that of the Women’s Institute.

She said: “As we look for new answers in the modern age, I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture. To me, these approaches are timeless and I commend them to everyone.”

The remarks echo parts of her Christmas Day address, when she spoke in favour of the virtues of respecting other views. However, Thursday’s message appears to be a deliberate attempt to go further.

The last major intervention into politics by the Queen came in 2014 before the Scottish referendum.

She told a well-wisher at Balmoral: “Well, I hope people will think very carefully about the future.”

It was widely seen as urging Scotland to vote to stay part of the United Kingdom.

Her speech came on another turbulent day in politics.

May’s revolt misery

Theresa May was facing a cabinet revolt over the prospect of a no-deal Brexit after two ministers said that they could resign rather than let Britain crash out of the EU.

Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, said that she was committed to avoiding a no-deal Brexit and demanded that ministers be allowed a free vote on extending Article 50.

Ms Rudd was joined by Richard Harrington, the business minister, who warned that leaving the EU without a deal would be a “disaster”.

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, challenged Mrs May by telling business leaders in Davos that leaving without a deal would be a “betrayal” of the referendum and suggested that EU workers could be given preferential access to jobs after Brexit.

Recent moves by Brexiteers have also risked dragging the Queen into politics. They have suggested that the government could prevent an extension of Article 50 by using a procedure known as prorogation to shut down parliament or asking the Queen to withhold royal assent from backbenchers’ bills.

On Thursday Sir Oliver Letwin, the former Cabinet Office minister, dismissed these as fanciful. “The British constitution is pretty clear. It’s parliament that is elected to pass laws, and when they are passed they need to be enacted and followed by government,” he told the BBC.

The Queen attends a meeting of the her local WI once a year at West Newton village hall, as part of her winter stay on her Norfolk estate.

— The Times