Top Tory Nicky Morgan rallies behind Boris Johnson and says PM must keep No Deal on table
CABINET Minister Nicky Morgan has rallied behind Boris Johnson following Amber Rudd's resignation and told the PM to keep No Deal on the table.
The Culture Secretary insisted she would "stay in the room" and give Johnson "necessary support" to strike a Brexit deal.
Her intervention comes after Work and Pensions secretary Amber Rudd resigned in protest at Downing Street's negotiating strategy.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Morgan said: "I am sorry to see Amber Rudd and Jo Johnson decide to resign in recent days.
"I respect their decision, but the Prime Minister has been clear from the start that we must leave on October 31 – deal or No Deal.
"I intend to stay ‘in the room where it happens’ to ensure that together with my colleagues, the Prime Minister has the necessary support to fulfil his priority of agreeing a deal with the EU as we leave by October 31.
The Prime Minister has been clear from the start that we must leave on October 31 – deal or No Deal
"Three years on from the referendum, we need to find a way for our country to come back together and bring the volatility of British politics to a close now.
"It is no surprise that the public are exhausted and fed up. I share this frustration – they voted to leave three years ago and it is our duty to deliver on that result."
Rudd's resignation came just 48 hours after Boris's brother Jo quit as Universities Minister.
The Prime Minister’s minority government is shrinking by the day as he faces twin battles with the EU and his own Parliament in his struggle to deliver Brexit.
BOJO ACCUSED OF 'ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY'
In her resignation letter, Ms Rudd – a staunch Remainer – said she joined the Cabinet in good faith accepting that No Deal had to be on the table to help clinch improved departure terms.
But she wrote: "However, I no longer believe that leaving with a deal is the Government’s main objective."
Pals say she had become increasingly uneasy over the new PM’s hardline stance.
The final straw came when he expelled 21 senior MPs for siding with Labour to force him to abandon the threat of leaving without a deal and to delay Brexit at least until February.
Ms Rudd vowed to fight the next election as an independent Conservative but away from her Leave-voting seat of Hastings and Rye, where she has a tiny minority of just 346.
She joins a growing list of ex-Tory big guns in the Commons, including former Chancellor Philip Hammond and ex- Justice Secretary David Gauke.
A No10 spokesman said: "We are disappointed to learn Amber has chosen to leave government and the party. She was a talented welfare minister."
Announcing her resignation, Ms Rudd accused the PM of an "assault on democracy".
She also gave an interview to the Sunday Times in which she claimed she had seen "no evidence" the government was seriously trying to get an EU deal.
Johnson raised eyebrows when he invited the remain-backing former Home Secretary to serve in his cabinet.
Source: Read Full Article