Yahoo News Amber Rudd sets out her vision to take on Boris Johnson in Tory leadership campaign
A Cabinet minister today went into battle against hardline Brexiteers with a cry for a “moderate, pro-business, low tax” Conservative vision.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd took on Right-wingers Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab in a fight for the heart and soul of the Tory Party.
Speaking to the Standard before the launch tonight of a One Nation caucus, Ms Rudd warned against lurching towards “extremists” like Nigel Farage.
“As moderate Conservatives we must hold our ground and take on the extremist forces,” she said. “We must be bold and be courageous and take on the falsehoods that are presented as simple choices.”
Ms Rudd spoke out as leadership campaigning broke out among fellow Cabinet members and ex-ministers vying to succeed Theresa May, who has signalled she will go this summer whether or not her Brexit deal is passed.
In key manoeuvring:
Health Secretary Matt Hancock set out a Centrist leadership vision, telling BBC radio that Mrs May’s successor could not just be someone to fix Brexit. “We need a leader not just for now but also for the future, we need to be absolutely four-square in the centre ground of British politics,” he said.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid unveiled a raft of tough counter-terror actions in a speech. He also paid tribute to the Prime Minister’s “tireless commitment to national security”.
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson made a rival pitch for the law and order vote with a tweet just before Mr Javid’s speech bemoaning the early release of prisoners, “even when they have been convicted of the most serious & violent crimes”.
In a speech tomorrow to business leaders, Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to warn: “Lurking ever larger behind this immediate challenge of Right-wing populism is the even greater danger of Left-wing populism.”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said in a tweet she would back a no-deal Brexit “if need be” in a clear pitch to Right-wingers.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was praised as a potential leader by Tory MP Vicky Ford who told the Westminster Hour: “I see him to be very competent, very capable and ... brave enough to take on big global challenges.”
The skirmishing comes ahead of Thursday’s European Parliament elections, which could see the Conservatives lose half of their 18 seats and come fourth behind Mr Farage’s Brexit Party, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey was this afternoon launching a group called Blue Collar Conservatism, seen as an attempt to copy Mr Farage’s appeal to working class Tories, with Right-wingers Ben Bradley and Scott Mann.
Ms Rudd told the Standard that the Tory Party must avoid the temptation to mimic Mr Farage. “The Brexit debate has led to politics recalibrating to a low expectation, with some politicians more interested in sound bites than sound debate,” she said, pledging to bring “serious policy debate to the fore”.
“It’s absolutely vital for this country that a moderate, pro-business, low-tax Conservative Party is available to voters... Otherwise the alternative is Jeremy Corbyn.”
