Ruth Davidson under pressure to spearhead ‘Gauke-ward Squad’ of senior Tories trying to block a No Deal Brexit
RUTH DAVIDSON is under pressure to spearhead the “Gaukeward Squad” of senior Tories trying to block a No-Deal Brexit.
The popular Scottish Tory leader could use the threat to the Union as a way of convincing Boris not to crash the UK out of the EU, the rebels hope.
Her key role in the coming battle is revealed today by Sun columnist James Forsyth.
One former minister says the anti-No Deal faction need Ms Davidson to play a more prominent role because of her “autonomy and credibility”.
Ms Davidson has already made it clear to Mr Johnson she opposes No Deal.
She wrote last weekend: “I don’t think the Government should pursue a No Deal Brexit and, if it comes to it, I won’t support it.
“I wrote to tell the former Prime Minister Theresa May that last year and I confirmed my position to her successor when I spoke to him last week.”
The Sun Says
BRITAIN’S confidence about a No Deal Brexit is growing, and no wonder.
Each day we are becoming better equipped than the EU, and Ireland in particular, to weather the turbulence.
It’s not just that Boris Johnson’s new and united Government has a laser-like focus on preparing for it and spending where necessary.
It’s that our economy remains fundamentally strong, defying all predictions of gloom. Unemployment, tipped to soar within months of a Brexit vote, did the opposite, with a million jobs created.
Growth, forecast to collapse, has instead ticked along — slowly, but no slower than across the EU. Inflation and interest rates are low and look stable.
The amount of venture-capital investment in UK startups, most of it foreign, is set for a record year. Billions more will pour in once we are out, even with No Deal, and uncertainty finally lifts.
Remainers leap on any dip in the Pound as an existential disaster. But our free-floating currency gives us a huge advantage over the eurozone. It’s a balancing mechanism in troubled times.
The same falling Pound that’s bad for Brit holidaymakers abroad and can fuel inflation also boosts our exports, creates jobs and attracts more tourists.
And while Bank of England chief Mark Carney is still full of chuntering pessimism about No Deal, it’s nothing compared with the terrifying warnings for Ireland from its Central Bank.
Germany, its car-makers in dire straits, may be heading for recession. Italy is struggling. France’s growth has almost stalled. The EU economy is in trouble, with few defences left. A No Deal — which they can still choose to avoid — could be a mortal blow.
There might be logistical chaos here, as well as there, possibly for months. But Britain — free to supercharge our economy with much lower taxes, less red tape and new global trade deals — will emerge to a richer future.
“Countries are more resilient than people think,” as ex-White House chief economist Gary Cohn said this week.
The Sun believes Boris and the EU should still look for a deal.
But Britain should fear No Deal far less than Brussels and Dublin.
The pair met earlier this week at Holyrood and she said afterwards it had been “incredibly constructive”.
The group fighting to stop a No-Deal Brexit includes Cabinet ministers who quit rather than serving under Boris, such as David Gauke, Philip Hammond and Rory Stewart.
They believe they have the numbers to stop the shock exit, as “more people will be prepared to go over the line for Hammond and Rory”.
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