We need an election now to deliver Brexit as rebels are trying to subvert will of the people ‘every step of the way’, Theresa May says in exclusive chat with The Sun
THERESA May has revealed she is calling a snap general election to stop EU rebels from derailing her Brexit negotiations.
The PM tells The Sun that the trigger for her dramatic announcement were threats last month to torpedo her Great Repeal Bill as it passes through Parliament.
Anti-Brexit MPs are “trying to stop us every step of the way”, she insisted, which is making it “harder for us negotiating with Europe”.
The Tory leader also laid down the gauntlet to her own rebel Tory MPs to sign up to her Brexit plans, or ship out.
Delivering an election ultimatum to Conservatives who have also refused to back her domestic reforms — such as bringing back grammar schools — the PM insisted: “Anybody who stands as a Conservative candidate obviously will sign up to the manifesto.
“That is a standard thing.”
The demand heaps pressure on the significant majority of Tory MPs who still need to be formally readopted by constituency parties as election candidates over the next three weeks.
The 60-year-old Prime Minister spoke to The Sun from her Downing Street study, giving her first election newspaper interview to the nation’s most popular newspaper.
She admitted the shock announcement was a dramatic U-turn on her previous pledge not to hold an early poll.
Mrs May explained: “When I became Prime Minister, I thought the most important thing to do for the country was to have a period of stability.
“But around that time of the invoking of Article 50, it became clear the extent to which there was political game playing and division in Westminster, which would have made it harder for us in negotiating with Europe.
“We want the best possible hand, we want the best possible negotiating position with the European Union.
“If you look at some of the things that were said, there is very clear potential for voting against the legislation to implement the leaving of the EU, and against the final deal – trying to stop us every step of the way.”
She added: “It became clearer that the next stages of the process – the Great Repeal Bill – would become more difficult.
“That’s the key piece of legislation that allows us to repeal the European Communities Act.
“It started me thinking about the necessity of strengthening our hand in our negotiations.”
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Having toyed with the idea for a few weeks, the Premier said she used a pre-Easter walking holiday in Snowdonia with husband Philip last week to come to a firm decision about the need for an early election.
She told aides of her thinking on her return to No10 last Thursday, triggering an intense and top secret five day operation to put plans in place for yesterday’s dramatic announcement on Downing Street’s steps.
The PM added: “It was starting to crystallise just before Philip and I went to Wales.
“But that just gave me an opportunity to think about it very deeply.
“Just before Easter, I had a real opportunity to think this through.
“It would strengthen our hand if we had a very clear mandate from people”.
Telling of her hopes from voters on June 8, Mrs May added: “What I hope comes out of the election is support from the public to say we agree with their plan for Brexit, so that when I go into Europe I’ve got that backing of the British people”.
She also revealed she feared having to hammer out at least two years of difficult talks that would rub up against a general election in 2020, which Brussels could have exploited.
The PM added: “If we’re negotiating at a point that is quite close to a general election, I think the Europeans might have seen that as a time of weakness when they could push us.
“Now we will be much freer.”
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As formal face to face Brexit negotiations won’t start until early June, the PM dubbed the next eight weeks as “a one off chance” and “a window of opportunity” to go to the country for a popular mandate that she is yet to win.
Revealing the offer the Tories will put to voters afresh, the PM suggested the election campaign will look like a re-run of David Cameron’s “competence versus chaos” message of 2015.
The PM told The Sun: “The choice they face is between stable and strong leadership, which I hope they have seen, and a coalition of Corbyn supported by the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.
“I hope people will put their trust in the Conservative party to take forward what we’ve started.”
Mrs May also faced criticism from some Tories yesterday for not waiting for constituency boundary changes to be enacted in October 2018, which would have given the Tories an extra 20 seats.
But hitting back, she risked angering some Tories defending marginal seats by saying: “It is not about the party.
“The crucial thing is what is in the interests of the country to make sure we get the stability and certainty, and leadership we need for the future”.
She also shook off suggestions of election fatigue among voters, facing the third nationwide poll in just two years after the 2015 general election and the EU referendum last summer.
Mrs May said: “You can never predict turnout.
“But I hope people will see it is important we have the strongest position possible to deliver Brexit.”
The Tories’ election manifesto will have significant new policies in it apart from Brexit, Mrs May also hinted.
She said: “Having an election now gives me an opportunity not just to talk about Brexit, but also the UK beyond Brexit.
“Things will be different once we’ve left the European Union, and it’s important that government has policies that addresses that.”
The PM also rejected SNP boss Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that an election victory in Scotland for her party would count as a fresh mandate to hold another Scottish independence referendum.
Quizzed on the Scotland First Minister’s claim, Mrs May said: “No. I’m very clear on why now is not the time for a second independence referendum.
“We need to unite as a country to take those negotiations forward, not try to divide people.”
Mrs May also dismissed a suggestion by EU Council boss Donald Tusk on Twitter yesterday that the high drama of Brexit now resembled an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Instead, she revealed she never looks at Twitter – unlike predecessor David Cameron, who was hooked on the social media site.
Mrs May said: “I don’t see tweets. As I never pay attention to tweets, I won’t even think about that one”.