Top Tories unite to stop Theresa May becoming Prime Minister by ‘coronation’
Michael Gove says May does not have the 'moral authority and mandate' to be the next Tory leader
SENIOR Tories have united to stop attempts to install Theresa May as prime minister by “coronation” with her rivals saying she does not have the “moral authority” to do the job.
There are claims allies of David Cameron want her rivals to give up their leadership bids, meaning she would automatically become the next Tory Party leader.
Michael Gove says this cannot happen and has warned May does not have the “moral authority and mandate” to secure a good deal for Britain outside the EU because she did not back Brexit.
The Justice Secretary said it would undermine “democratic accountability” if a “remain” campaigner were handed the keys to 10 Downing Street.
And Andrea Leadsom, the Energy Minister competing with Gove for Brexit backers, condemned calls for “some sort of coronation” that would leave “no role for those who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU”.
She said: “I can’t believe anybody would seriously consider this. The British people made their views clear.”
Speaking to the , May’s spokeswoman denied the stitch-up: “Theresa has been adamant from the first moment that there should be no deals and no tactical voting.
“She thinks the party deserves a full debate about the future and the winner should have a clear mandate to lead.”
And on Peston on Sunday earlier today Theresa May said she did not want there to be a "coronation".
She said: "I think there should be a contest.
"I hope I'm one of the candidates that will go forward to the membership."
The Home Secretary said it is important to stress that despite being in support of Remain during the EU referendum campaign she would carry out the will of the British people.
She said as leader she would not trigger Article 50 - the process of Britain leaving the EU - before the end of the year but said "Brexit means Brexit".
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, compared her to Gordon Brown — who was elected unopposed.
He said it would be a disaster if she was given the top job without a leadership contest.
“The idea of a coronation is a stitch-up by an establishment.
“Those who have a vested interest in not having a contest should respect the democratic process.
“If you want to know what happens when due process is abandoned, just remember what happened to Labour when they picked Gordon Brown.
“That result was an utter disaster.”
Veteran Eurosceptic Bill Cash, who is backing Leadsom, said Brexit backers could even go to the High Court to seek a judicial review if they did not have the option of voting for a candidate who wanted to leave the EU.
He said: “Theresa May has never been a Eurosceptic, it’s as simple as that. After 30 years I can tell the difference between a Eurosceptic and a Europhile.”
Cash said if May became Prime Minister without a vote it “would be defrauding the verdict of the British people”.
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On Tuesday Tory MPs begin voting to narrow the field of five candidates to two, leaving party members to make the final decision.
But a senior minister backing a rival candidate said: “Theresa wants to line up 200-plus MPs and force everybody to give up.”
MPs said May is trying to keep Leadsom and Gove out of second place by asking some of her backers to vote for Stephen Crabb in the first round.
Others say her supporters have hinted she would stand down in 2020 to encourage them to give up — but May’s team denies this.
Last night Gove’s allies made clear he would “never” stand aside.
Gove says it is crucial Conservative Party members are reminded Cameron resigned – in part – because he believed a Brexiteer should be Prime Minister.
He said: “It is a matter of democratic accountability.
“People who voted in a particular way will expect someone who believed in that to argue their case for them.”
And he said he gathering 17million votes for the Leave side gives him the mandate to be prime minister.
He added: “I think the world of Theresa, but the principle difference between us in this race is that she fought for Britain to remain in the European Union and I argued that Britain should leave.
“If you are going to have a leadership election, the prime minister having chosen to stand down, then the logic is that you need to have someone who backed Brexit and believed in it and argued for it and campaigned for it, as leader in these negotiations.”
Gove vowed to set up a “pentagon” of five senior ministers — with a majority of Brexiteers — to run the negotiations to get Britain out of the EU.
Attacking May he said she would not be able to leave ministers to make their own decisions.
He said: “She is just like Gordon Brown was.
“She insists on controlling everything and making all the decisions. She can’t delegate. You can do that as Home Secretary.
“You can’t do it as Prime Minister.
“Frankly, I think it will kill her.”
May has lived with diabetes for several years, but aides say this has not stopped her being the longest-serving and one of the most successful Home Secretaries for a century.