“What are people going to think about what we have left, and what we have lost?”
Mark Spencer has reportedly rung round to inform them that they have lost the Whip.
The former Party Chairman and Chief Whip says the only way to save moderate conservatism is to get Brexit through.
Letwin versus Rees-Mogg, or Parliament versus the people.
They are not necessarily three birds of a feather: ConservativeHome is told that Simpson will vote with the Government this evening.
Shouldn’t local Assocations have the right to select their candidate? It is far from obvious to us that the answer is no.
Margot James resigned as a minister following her rebellion. Meanwhile, the Chancellor joined Gauke and Clark in failing to support the Government.
The new Solicitor General and FCO/DfID minister are both sensible choices, which might say more about the Prime Minister’s position than her judgement.
It is a telling sign that several PPS positions – usually the first step on the ladder for ambitious MPs – have gone unfilled since November.
It passed its Third Reading by a single vote. Now the former Labour Minister’s anti-No Deal Bill is off to the Lords.
But he warns that others are considering their positions as the Prime Minister faces crunch decisions on Brexit.
The list includes the three who resigned from the Government this evening – and Green, one of the Prime Minister’s oldest allies.
All credit to them for quitting on principle rather than, as the Cabinet “Gang of Three” did, defying the whip and staying on in Government.
Gauke, Hammond, Burt and other rebels have little intellectual case for their actions; their moral or political rationale is threadbare.