Yahoo News Boris Johnson makes fresh pitch for Tory leadership and says Brexit can unite the country
Boris Johnson has again make a bid to become Conservative Party leader with a speech designed to appeal to the party’s blue-collar workers.
The former foreign secretary called on the government to ‘use Brexit to unite the country’ by focusing on the ‘issues that drove Brexit’ by promising tax cuts and lower immigration.
Johnson also said there should be a ‘national programme of cohesion’.
He also tried to broaden his appeal and reclaim some liberal credentials by saying he is a ‘passionate believer in the benefits of migration’ but also highlighted concerns over wages being driven down
He will also call for more money for devolved regions.
The leadership is likely to divide many Tories.
Many still see Johnson as capable of leading the party but others, including his former deputy at the Foreign Office Sir Alan Duncan has criticised him on Twitter for ‘recklessly dividing’ the Tories over the issue of Brexit.
‘Please think less about yourself and instead focus only on solving the historic crisis we now face which you have done so much to create,’ Duncan added.
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On the issue of Brexit, Johnson said: ‘‘I believe that there is a very good chance, indeed overwhelmingly likely, that we will leave with a deal – we just won’t leave with this deal.’
Asked if Britain would struggle if a no-deal Brexit becomes a reality, Johnson replied: ‘I don’t want to pretend there will be no challenges and no changes to cope with.
Boris – You are not equipped to unite the Party which you have so recklessly divided. Please think less about yourself and instead focus only on solving the historic crisis we now face which you have done so much to create. @bbclaurak #backthePMtheclockisticking
— Sir Alan Duncan MP (@AlanDuncanMP) January 18, 2019
‘Of course there will be. But I say to all those who believe in the democratic freedoms of this country
‘We are more than up to it. We have got so far, we are almost there, let us not give up now.’
The former Etonian and Oxford University graduate said delaying Brexit could fuel suspicion of an ‘elite conspiracy’ and further ‘erode trust’ in politics.
Johnson said any delay on Britain leaving would be ‘shameful’ and said rescinding Article 50 would be ‘pathetic’.
He also called on Theresa May to go back to Brussels and get a different deal.
He was speaking at a JCB factory in Staffordshire.
JCB boss Anthony Bamford is a major Conservative party donor.
