LONDON — Deep disagreements in the U.K. Conservative Party over Brexit? Surely not!
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch continued the Conservatives’ EU forever war Thursday night as she accused David Cameron of failing to prepare sufficiently for Brexit as prime minister.
“One of the most disappointing things was becoming an MP a year later and finding out there had been no plans made about how this was going to happen,” Badenoch told business lobby group the Confederation of British Industry Thursday. “I think that was the real dereliction of duty.”
“If you’re offering people Leave vs. Remain you need to do your work, not just do the work for the option you want to win,” she added, in comments that could make for some awkward chat around the Cabinet table, where Cameron now sits as foreign secretary.
Cameron, who pushed for Britain to stay in the bloc, resigned as PM in 2016 following the country’s Brexit vote.
Civil servants were forbidden from preparing for a Brexit vote during the campaign, a decision parliament’s foreign affairs committee later described as an act of “gross negligence.”
Badenoch, a rising star tipped as a future Tory leader, voted for Brexit, and has revealed that the referendum split her family.
The business and trade secretary reportedly criticized Leveling-Up Secretary Michael Gove, a former ally, over his stance on government plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Stefan Boscia and Dan Bloom contributed reporting.
Ever since Donald Trump told a sleeping world about the excesses of China, countries have been trying to dissociate themselves from the Communist nation. But, UK, a key ally of the USA was too much dependent on it. That is why, Rishi Sunak is trying to become 3rd Prime Minister in a row whose pitched USP will be being a China hawk and he has his arsenal ready.
Anti-China strategy of Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak has told Brits that if he becomes the Prime Minister, then he will eliminate influence of China from the region. And Rishi does not mean lowering only Chinese money on the banks of Thames river. He seems to have a detailed plan for throwing out Chinese soft power in the country as well. Rishi has announced that if he becomes PM, then he will shut down 30 Confucius institutes in Britain. Additionally, on the lines of India keeping a check on foreign funding, Rishi will also ask Universities to disclose foreign funding. This move is specially targeted to what Rishi termed as “kick the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) out of our universities”. Moreover, to counter Chinese military ambitions, Rishi is thinking of building a “NATO-style” military cooperation.
Highlighting how he will change attitude of British political set up towards China, Rishi Sunak said, “They torture, detain and indoctrinate their own people, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, in contravention of their human rights. And they have continually rigged the global economy in their favour by suppressing their currency. Enough is enough. For too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to China’s nefarious activity and ambitions. I will change this on Day 1 as PM.”
China’s predatory diplomacy
Like every other country in the western world, UK is also a victim of Bill Clinton’s eagerness to bring China in WTO. Initially, China did not show any intention to increase its political clout in Britain. China utilised the days of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to build a base upon which they could launch a full-fledged diplomatic offensive. 3 years into David Cameron’s Prime Ministership, Xi Jinping took charge in China and China’s imperial ambitions became overt, especially in its neighbouring regions.
David Cameroon is the culprit
In spite of being aware of China’s predatory approach, David Cameron went out of his way to forge warm ties with China. In his 2013 visit to the China, Cameron went with largest ever trade delegation of 120 people. Both countries signed trade pact worth 6 billion pounds. Next year, Li Keqiang returned the favour on Xi Jiping’s part. Later, George Osborne, then British Finance Minister explicitly declared that Britain is dependent on China for economic growth.
In 2015, Xi Jinping himself visited the country and there the world finally got to know the depth with which China had permeated in Britain’s polity. Cameron’s promise of “golden era” in China-Britain relationship was being manifested in him sharing a pint of beer with Jinping at a pub in the English county of Buckinghamshire. Later, Chinese bought that pub, along with many other key figures in British politics.
Lord Browne, formerly the UK chairman of Huawei Technologies, served as the British government’s Lead Non-Executive Director from 2010 until 2014. Sir Andrew Cahn, a board member of Huawei UK, was in charge of UK Trade and Investment, while John Suffolk, Huawei’s Senior Vice President and Global Cyber Security and Privacy Officer, also served as Cameron’s Chief Information Officer. Between 2010 and 2016, China invested more than $10 billion in Britain.
Being anti-China is the new USP in Britain’s politics
That is why when David Cameron resigned, it became imminent for upcoming British Prime Ministers to strangulate China. When Theresa May was at the helm of affairs, the level of enthusiasm between London and Beijing went down considerably. Many ambitious projects like an RMB bond issuance and a London-Shanghai stock got sidelined. Later Boris Johnson also continued with May’s legacy and banned Chinese Huawei from participating in Britain’s 5G future.
In March this year, Boris government termed China as the biggest state-based threat to UK’s economic security.
However, Rishi Sunak was believed to be China dove by many. Global times was hopeful of reconciliation with Britain. But, at the end of day, he will always go with domestic demands.
The EU referendum campaign at times seemed like a personal battle between David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Their rivalry has history. For Newsnight, Michael Cockerell looks at the relationship between the two men - and how it influenced the contest. (N.B. This aired on the programme on 22 June 2016)
27 Jun 2016 (reposted toady)
Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.
We are now on our third occupant of Number 10 since the UK voted 52% to 48% to Leave back in June 2016.
Oddly it wasn't Europe but trade union disruption which did for Ted Heath, the passionate Conservative Europhile who took the UK into what was then called the European Economic Community, or EEC, back in 1973.
At that time the Conservatives were the party of Europe and Labour were its main opponents.
It took two elections for Harold Wilson to get Labour back into power in 1974 and considerable cunning to keep Britain in the community as he really wanted.
Wilson boxed clever by holding a referendum to paper over the huge divisions in the country.
He was sure he would win and, unlike David Cameron 40 years later, he did.
More than two-thirds voted yes.
Thatcher was a leading campaigner for Europe back then.
But as she told me she loves a fight.
She won money back for Britain in a permanent rebate from the Brussels budget. In 1988 the British were the dominant force establishing the single market.
By now the ruling Conservative Party was split. Thatcher expressed her doubts about the direction Europe was taking in the Bruges speech. Then pro-Europeans led by Michael Heseltine and Geoffrey Howe forced her out. She departed denouncing further integration.
Margaret Thatcher (right) was forced out by pro-Europeans led by Michael Heseltine (left)
The new prime minister, John Major, took a softer approach, trying to balance both sides. He claimed game, set and match at the Maastricht negotiations opting Britain out of the single currency.
But months later the pound crashed out of the European exchange rate on Black Wednesday.
By now Major was fighting what he called "b*******" in and out of the cabinet, and he narrowly won re-election in 1995 when he put his leadership on the line in an attempt to reassert his authority.
Labour's Tony Blair swept to power in 1997. Blair was avowedly a pro-European but he allowed his chancellor Gordon Brown to persuade him against joining the next phase of EU integration, the Euro common currency.
After 9/11 European unity was shattered by Blair's decision to go to war shoulder to shoulder with the Americans, something French President Jacques Chirac opposed loudly.
Meanwhile Britain was one of the only countries not to impose limits on migration from the new member states in Eastern Europe. Nearly three million came into the country in the first decade of the century.
New Labour promised but did not hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Instead Brown refused to join in celebrations and tried to sign it in private.
Jacques Chirac (right) was against Tony Blair's (left) decision to go to war alongside the US
By the time Cameron came to power in 2010, the majority of Conservative activists were Eurosceptic, some clamouring for a referendum. Cameron held off the calls for his first term thanks to the coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.
In 2015 he won an outright majority and faced delivering on his promise. UKIP - who Cameron had once dismissed as fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists - was surging.
Cameron called an in/out referendum. His side had won a referendum against Scottish independence the previous year and expected to win again. He was wrong.
David Cameron campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum
Boris Johnson threw his charisma behind the Leave campaign and on 23 June 2016 a majority voted to leave the European Union.
Cameron quit immediately. Theresa May took over. She struggled for three years to deliver on the referendum, saying "Brexit means Brexit" over and over again.
But the Supreme Court agreed with Gina Miller, the pro-Remain businesswoman, that parliament should have the final say and it became impossible for May to win over MPs after she lost her majority in a snap general election. Rampant Tory backbenchers in the European research group made her tearful exit inevitable.
Now Johnson has ridden Brexit all the way to Number 10 Downing Street.
He's "got Brexit done" as he promised, if not quite on time. He'll be hoping to buck the trend and pull off a happy European ending for himself and the
And then-Chancellor George Osborne warned that Brits would be hit in the pocket if we left, as Project Fear took on a life of its own trying to scare us to stay in.
The Remain campaign was also backed by every single living Prime Minister, as well as the-then President Barack Obama.
In one of the biggest upsets in history, the leave campaign handed the Remainer establishment a bloody nose in the result of a lifetime.
Lifelong euro-sceptic and then-Ukip leader Nigel Farage described it as “two fingers up” at Britain’s politicians.
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Britain votes to leave the EU - which saw Nigel Farage delighted
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David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister
END OF DAVE
The result sparked the end of Mr Cameron, who resigned on the steps of Downing Street the very next morning - leaving no one in charge to steady the ship.
Theresa May stepped in to replace her and was seen as a safe pair of hands at the time, despite backing Remain.
Immediately she said Britain had to respect the result of the referendum, and started the long road to delivering the result.
WE'RE OFF!
Before firing the starting gun, the new PM had to battle with a whole series of court cases from Remainers trying to stop Brexit from happening.
After a long battle, the Government were forced to abide by the ruling.
Following the vote, Mrs May sent our EU ambassador to Brussels with a letter saying we do want out, kick-starting two years of talks to seal an exit deal in.
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Gina Miller won her Supreme Court case, forcing a vote on BrexitCredit: EPA
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British Ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow hands the Brexit letter to European Council President Donald Tusk in BrusselsCredit: Rex Features
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Barnier struggling during Brexit discussionsCredit: AP:Associated Press
BRUSSELS IN DENIAL
The PM tried her best to get Brussels on side in the early stages of talks, but they refused to accept Brexit was really happening.
They scorned her for refusing to decide whether Britain wanted to stay close to the EU or throw off the shackles.
Repeatedly Brussels bosses would doubt whether Britain would really leave at all, and said it was welcome to stay if it wanted to.
They refused to even discuss a future trade agreement with the bloc until a string of other things had been sorted - including the huge Brexit divorce bill.
ELECTION FLOP
Brexit almost fell again when his replacement Theresa May called an election in 2017, as she tried to shore up a bigger majority in Parliament.
Despite facing a useless Jeremy Corbyn, the result was a disaster with cocky Mrs May surrendering her majority.
She was then forced to rely on the DUP, leaving her lacking the power and control needed to get Brexit done.
Brexit's future continued to hang in the balance.
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Theresa May looked visible emotional after losing her majority in the 2017 electionCredit: Rex Features
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A weakened Theresa May during an EU summit in BrusselsCredit: AP:Associated Press
CABINET REVOLT
The PM went on to plan Brexit at a crunch Chequers summit over the summer of 2018, which unravelled as Brexiteers turned against her position.
But despite the odds, the PM did manage to seal a deal with Brussels.
However, it was universally slated by Brexiteers and Remainers alike.
Leavers hated it for tying us into EU rules, and resented the Northern Irish backstop - and Remainers despised it for taking us out in the first place.
New Brexit Secretary Dominic Rabb walked out with a string of others, leaving the PM severely weakened.
She then faced a vote of no confidence from her own backbenchers, who handed in letters calling for her to go.
A cabal of MPs forced the government into allowing a Commons vote to sign off the eventual Brexit deal.
This then saw Mrs May’s deal shot down a total of three times.
Britain's future hung in the balance as the Tory party refused to get behind the PM, giving hope to MPs desperate to block democracy and overturn Brexit.
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Theresa May suffered a historic Commons defeat on her Brexit deal - which went on to get slapped down three timesCredit: Reuters
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24 May 2019 - The Prime Minister tearfully announcing she is to quit after failing three times to get her deal through ParliamentCredit: Getty Images - Getty
MAY BE GONE, BORIS RISES
On May 24, after three meaningful votes failing, and several rounds of cross party talks which didn't get anywhere, the PM finally faced defeat.
She announced she would quit as PM and hand over to her successor after a leadership contest.
Boris Johnson was crowned just a few months later, winning over the majority of the Tory party and finally uniting them behind him.
He got on quickly with a domestic agenda, but pushed on with his plan to renegotiate the hated bits of the Brexit deal.
And he ramped up No Deal preparations to get the EU to take our threat to leave without an agreement seriously.
Despite huge doubts that Boris would achieve anything at all, the PM amazed Westminster when he revealed a new Brexit agreement.
He raced to get it signed off before Brexit day but another gaggle of Remainer MPs blocked him from acting.
They pushed him into asking Brussels for a third Brexit extension, infuriating Leave voters once again.
ELECTION RISK... PAYS OFF
Fed up with the deadlock, Boris pushed for an election until the Labour party and Lib Dems finally gave in and backed one.
The PM risked handing over power to Jeremy Corbyn and took his message to the country to 'Get Brexit Done' and finally move on.
After a gruelling six-week campaign he came out victorious with a huge 80-seat majority.
And he wasted no time either, bringing the deal back to Parliament within days to push it through.
It sailed through the Commons but was amended by Remainer in the House of Lords.
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Boris greeting other EU leaders as he finally seals a better dealCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Boris finally managed to persuade MPs to back a snap election - which he went on to winCredit: Getty Images - Getty
The Government overturned them and forced it through, pushing it through to get Royal Assent at the end of January.
The European Parliament signed it off earlier this week, marking the end of three years of wrangling.
After 11pm, Britain will finally get out of the EU, against the odds, and move on.
