Politics

Don’t turn us into a ‘Brexit sect’ says minister facing sack by local Tories



A cabinet minister today warned the Conservative Party risks being turned into a “narrow sect” by Brexit hardliners seeking to oust centrist MPs.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said their actions would leave the party “out of touch” with the millions of voters needed to win a general election majority.

He spoke out hours before a special meeting of his South West Hertfordshire Conservative association was due to discuss a motion of no confidence in him for alleged  “wilful obstruction” to implementing the 2016 EU referendum result.

The move comes despite him repeatedly voting for Theresa May’s Brexit plans which were sunk by arch- Eurosceptics, the Democratic Unionist Party and some Remain Tory MPs.

Speaking to the Standard, he said: “For the Conservative Party to succeed it must be a broad church and have wide appeal. There’s a risk, instead, that we become a narrow sect and out of touch with the voters we need to win a majority. If we are going to start deselecting those who have supported government policy and voted to leave the EU, I really fear for the future of the party. I will robustly defend my position and seek to fight off the Leave.EU campaign to turn the Conservative Party into the Brexit Party.”

Other Tory MPs rallied behind Mr Gauke. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, branded the moves against Mr Gauke as “ridiculous”.

He tweeted: “@DavidGauke has voted three times for a Government policy to leave the EU, some others haven’t. How can he be up for deselection for following Government policy and the instruction of 2016.”

Brexit minister James Cleverly added: “@DavidGauke is a great MP and a huge asset to our party.”

Mr Gauke has argued strongly against crashing out of the EU with no deal, which many economists and business chiefs believe would lead to tens of thousands of job losses and hundreds of companies going bust.

But he is not among Tory MPs campaigning for a second referendum and for Remain such as former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who has lost a no-confidence vote by local Conservatives in his Beaconsfield constituency.

It means he will have to ask the local association to reselect him as a candidate for the next general election.

He and Labour’s Dame Margaret Beckett have tabled a Commons amendment which would cut off Whitehall  departments’ funds in a no deal unless MPs approve it.



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