PM dismisses Boris Johnson’s speech as ‘a good show’ as she digs in over Chequers plan

Theresa May has admitted Boris Johnson “always puts on a good show” but dug in over her Brexit plan and told Sky News she is the one “delivering” for British people.

The prime minister launched a strong defence of her Chequers strategy for leaving the EU after her former foreign secretary ratcheted up his demand for her to “chuck” her proposals.

Asked by Sky News’ political editor Faisal Islam whether she had been hurt by Mr Johnson’s description of her plan as an “outrage”, Mrs May said: “Look, Boris always puts on a good show, but what matters to people is what we’re delivering for them on the things that affect their day-to-day lives.

“The Chequers plan is a plan that delivers on the vote of the British people, it makes sure we take back control of our money, our borders, and our laws.”

In a speech to a packed fringe event at the Conservative Party conference earlier on Tuesday, Mr Johnson threatened to upstage Mrs May with his eagerly anticipated address to Tory members.

At the end of a wide-ranging speech, viewed by some as his pitch to replace Mrs May, Mr Johnson called on government ministers to “softly, quietly and sensibly” try and force the prime minister into changing tack on Brexit.

However, Mrs May insisted she is standing firm on Chequers as “the only plan on the table” and would not bow to Brexiteers’ demands to divert to a Canada-style trade relationship with the EU.

She said: “If you look back at the vote that took place in 2016, people voted to leave the EU.

“What was, I think, driving a lot of those votes for people who voted to leave was the desire to bring back control of our borders by bringing an end to free movement, we will do that.

“It’s not negotiable, that’s what the Chequers plan does.

“A desire to ensure we’re not sending the vast annual sums of money to the EU. Control of our money, that’s what the Chequers plan does.

“The desire to ensure we are in control of our laws, so we are not under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. That’s what the Chequers plan does.

“So the Chequers plan delivers on all those, it also takes us out of the Common Fisheries Policy, takes us out of the Common Agricultural Policy, ensures that we’re going to be able to be our own trade negotiator, negotiating trade deals around the world that are in our interests, not in Brussels’ interests.

“But it does it in a way that protects jobs here in the UK, and protects the union of the UK.”

The prime minister also repeated her demand for the EU to offer “counterproposals” and to spell out their concerns with the Chequers plan “in detail”, after the bloc rejected a key plank of her strategy at an acrimonious summit in Salzburg last month.

Mrs May conceded there would be “short-term” disruption from a “no-deal” departure from the EU, but stressed her government is working to “put in place the measures to ensure that we can makes as much success of leaving… regardless of the deal we get”.

She also confirmed the UK would fall back on World Trade Organisation tariffs with the EU in the absence of an agreement with Brussels.

“If we’re in a no-deal situation there isn’t an agreed trading relationship for the future,” she said. “We would go onto the basis of WTO tariffs and so those WTO tariffs would kick in.”

WTO tariffs ranging from 10% for finished cars up to around 35% for some foodstuffs have been considered an inevitable consequence of a no-deal Brexit, but some Brexiteer MPs argue they need not be applied if the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement.

Leading manufacturers such as car exporters have warned WTO tariffs would be a “disaster” for UK-based firms.

The prime minister referred back to her initial speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street as she claimed the Tories have the “big ideas” for the future of the UK at their gathering in Birmingham.

“We have to make the arguments for free markets, for open economies,” she said.

“We have to recognise in doing that, that for some people – as I said on the steps of Downing Street back when I first became prime minister – they do feel that things haven’t been working for everyone in the way that they should.

“That’s why, alongside the discussions about Brexit, actually what this conference has been focusing on is the changes we’re making to people.

“In terms of things like putting extra money into social care, to ensure we’re dealing with the winter pressures, to the commitment we’ve already made for more money for the National Health Service.

“The changes we’re making in the apprenticeship levy, to ensure that we get those good apprenticeships available for our young people.”

Mrs May also dismissed the chances of a general election before 2022, as she again failed to give her backing to Sky News’ campaign for an independent commission to ensure TV debates become a regular fixture of UK elections.

She said: “The next general election is in 2022. Let’s look at these issues when we get to the next general election.”

(c) Sky News 2018: PM dismisses Boris Johnson’s speech as ‘a good show’ as she digs in over Chequers plan