Brexit: Theresa May warns Tory MPs backing new referendum of backlash
The prime minister said MPs will answer to local parties who care about delivering on the 2016 vote
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has warned Conservative MPs backing a new referendum on Brexit that they risk a backlash from their local parties.
The prime minister said Tory associations that have powers to sack MPs cared most about “delivering what people voted for” in the 2016 referendum.
She was speaking amid claims that thousands of ex-Ukip members and those linked to the Leave.EU campaign are said to be infiltrating local parties to push them towards a harder Brexit agenda.
The Independent has also recently launched its campaign for a Final Say referendum on whatever the outcome of negotiations is, with more than 750,000 having signed its petition.
A string of senior Tory MPs have backed a new referendum including Justine Greening and Dominic Grieve who have spelled out their arguments in The Independent.
With a rising tide of public opinion in favour of a new vote, more Conservatives are expected to go public, putting Ms May in an ever more difficult position.
Speaking to reporters as she flew to South Africa on a trade trip, she said:
“Parliament overwhelmingly voted to give the British people their say, on whether or not we should remain in the European Union. The British people voted. They voted to leave the European Union.
“I believe it is now important for the government to deliver on that vote and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
She added: “I believe that what matters to local associations is what the government is delivering for them, what the Conservative government is delivering for them. What we are delivering is what the people voted for.”
Public backing for a new referendum on Ms May’s deal has leapt in the last month, amid deep division over her approach to EU withdrawal.
It surged by four points from 44 per cent to 48 per cent among the general public in mid-August, with opposition to the idea falling away.
But Tory associations have reported high levels of anger at what many members see as the failure of Ms May’s own Brexit proposals to fully deliver on the 2016 referendum, let alone opposition to a new referendum.
Associations are also reporting a surge in members who have joined in the wake of Ms May’s Chequers deal.
The increase has raised concerns the party is at risk from a ‘Momentum-style’ takeover from those angry at the deal.
The prime minister argued the increase was down to the party’s own efforts to push up membership numbers.
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