Conservative MP for Broxtowe Anna Soubry has warned she could quit the political party if Theresa May pushes through a ‘Hard Brexit’.
Writing in yesterday’s (Sunday August 13) Mail on Sunday, Ms Soubry wrote ‘my country must come before my party if Theresa May sides with the hardliners’.
International trade secretary Liam Fox and chancellor Philip Hammond announced the UK would not remain in the customs union shortly afterwards on the same day.
It means the UK will be free to conclude trade deals with non-EU countries from the moment it leaves, expected to be in March 2019, and that it will not have to wait until the transition is over.
Ms Soubry wrote she thinks a ‘Hard Brexit’ would be ‘reckless’ and ‘would destroy the lives and livelihoods of my constituents’.
“People have asked me two questions, if the worst happened and we staggered recklessly towards a ‘Hard Brexit’: could I ever see myself joining with like-minded people who want to save our country from such an appalling fate? And has that moment arrived yet?
“The answer to the first question is ‘it is not impossible’; the answer to the second is ‘no’.
“But I would be betraying my principles if I did not make it clear that country must always come before party.”
Ms Soubry also thinks the ‘party could split’ if the ‘prime minister is not prepared to confront the ideologues’.
“Many remainers like me have been true to our promise to respect the result of last year’s referendum”, she wrote.
“However, we must face up to the Brexit reality: it is fantasy to think we are going to get a good deal from the EU based on our current negotiating strategy.
“People will soon see how they have been conned by the Brexiteers. All options must go back on the table.
“There is a sense of resignation among most people who voted Remain that we have to ‘man up’ – even the women among us – and make the most of what we know will be a rotten Brexit.”
Ms Soubry expects to have a better idea of what type of Brexit will happen in the next few months.
“Mrs May must be careful not to steer the country or the party in the wrong direction. She must take both with her.
“That means Tory party managers must not issue wild threats against any Conservative who expresses an opinion contrary to the views of those who would seek a ruinous ‘Hard Brexit’.
“Treating people like me as the ‘enemy within’, as opposed to patriots with a legitimate and well-considered view shared by millions of voters, will achieve nothing.”
Notts TV has attempted to contact Anna Soubry for comment.
