Despite being the electorate’s favourite, Defense Secretary Benn Wallace is pulling out of the primaries because his vote against the 2016 referendum puts him at a disadvantage in front of MPs
The race to succeed Boris Johnson as British Conservative leader and Prime Minister suffered a significant loss yesterday. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed he will not run in the primaries, despite being the party base favorite and having gained respect and visibility for his management of the war in Ukraine. Wallace voted against ‘Brexit’ in the 2016 referendum, a factor that left him at a disadvantage against his parliamentary colleagues in this contest that puts the UK’s drift in the independent trajectory and its relationship with the European Union at stake.
It is up to the 358 deputies of the House of Representatives faction to do the first screening of candidates in this election, which they themselves forced by losing faith in the integrity and leadership of their boss and prime minister. They will vote as many times as necessary until there are two finalists left to decide the militancy. Little unites both conservative voters like the desire to protect “Brexit,” both of whom consider Johnson’s great legacy.
The outgoing ‘tory’ president won a massive majority in the 2019 parliamentary election – now reduced to 73 seats – with the slogan ‘Get Brexit done’, which was taken for granted a year later. The candidates to replace him will have the opportunity in the coming days and weeks to present their specific vision for the next stage on the path free of ties with the EU. The return to the community bloc is an option rejected by all, and will not even appear in the campaign of the former Europeans, such as former minister Jeremy Hunt, who has not yet announced his interest in entering the arena.
Johnson cleared it in favor of maintaining good relations with the EU. He expelled 21 deputies from the parliamentary group who tried to prevent a no-deal withdrawal and, with these and other controversial moves, transformed some banks that opposed the split in ‘Brexiteras’ until 2016. Only conservatives in Westminster willing to “respect the ‘will of the people’,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London.
Grant Shapps, Transport Minister who announced his candidacy this afternoon, is an example of converting to an anti-EU ideology. “I voted to stay but I have embraced the country’s new direction and am optimistic about the future of the UK,” he said six months after the landmark referendum. Perhaps he will get the support of his moderate colleagues in the first round of voting, which could take place next week.
The ultra-Eurosceptic faction remains vigilant and ready to prevent the rise of candidates who renounce their creed in defense of national sovereignty. The nearly 100 delegates associated with the ERG (EU Research Group) will make the Northern Ireland protocol the litmus test to ensure their support for the leading candidates. The group is demanding the withdrawal of this essential part of the Withdrawal Agreement, even if it means declaring war on Brussels.
Opinion polling expert Professor John Curtice underlines the imbalance that exists between the horizons of conservatives and the general population. Some MPs want to squeeze the benefits of ‘Brexit’ through far-reaching liberalization of regulations, which will widen the gap with the Brussels bloc. But the electorate attaches great importance to the environmental and consumer protection guaranteed by the EU, writes the academic in a column in ‘The Times’.
Another effect of the pending ‘Brexit’ solution is the dilemma between closing borders to community workers and the labor shortage that is hurting the UK economy at this stage of global crisis. In any case, former Conservative minister and recalcitrant pro-European Michael Heseltine is confident that Johnson’s successor will build a “more positive relationship” with the EU.
The conservative branch, which will hold the final vote between two candidates, is more relaxed in its opposition to the European club. The party board is not detailing the militancy, which is said to have grown to an estimated 200,000 members in the past year due to Johnson’s popular hook. According to academic studies, it is a minuscule proportion of the population, with an average age of 60 and, in the majority, men, of white ethnicity and inhabitants of the south of the country.
On the other hand, a recent YouGov poll suggests that 42% of voters in the primaries will consider the candidate’s choice to leave the EU, but only 3% will favor if they opt for permanence. Instead, the three priorities in his choice of the new leader and prime minister will be that he is competent, can unite the party and have a better chance of winning the next general election. The results of the elections are expected between September and early October.
Source: La Verdad
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