Ditching Theresa May threatens to derail Brexit says Chris Grayling as he urges Tories not to try and change Prime Minister
Transport Secretary is latest cabinet minister to pledge support for his beleaguered boss in the wake of the general election
DITCHING Theresa May threatens to derail Brexit and a change in Prime Minister should not be on the Tory agenda, according to Chris Grayling.
The Transport Secretary is the latest cabinet minister to pledge support for his beleaguered boss in the wake of the disastrous general election.
He urged those in his party unhappy that they lost their House of Commons majority not to move against Mrs May for fear it will damage our chances of getting a good EU deal.
Mr Grayling was speaking to the BBC in the wake of the opening day of Brexit talks between David Davis and Michel Barnier in Brussels yesterday.
And over the weekend it was reported the PM had just 10 days to keep her job as both Mr Davis and Boris Johnson were being touted as possible replacements.
But the Transport Secretary told Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't think a change of Prime Minister should be on our agenda.
"What we've got to do is to go into the Brexit talks, deliver the right outcome.
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"That's what she's committed to, it's what we all want to see happen, it's really important for our country that that's what happens."
On Monday, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said he expected Mrs May to still be Prime Minister at the end of Brexit negotiations in March 2019.
And Mr Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, also backed the PM staying on, saying there was no appetite for further elections.
His aides also dismissed claims he has been discussing a leadership bid with Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon as "completely false" after they were spotted drinking in a pub in Kent on Saturday evening.
Mr Davis last week described leadership gossip centred on the Foreign Secretary as "unbelievably self-indulgent" – but not all of Mrs May’s Cabinet have backed her so explicitly.
On Sunday, the Chancellor Philip Hammond criticised the way the election campaign had been run and sidestepped questions over how long the PM would remain in power.
He simply said: "Theresa is leading the Government and I think the Government needs to get on with its job."
And the new House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom insisted she did not "look into the future" when asked about Mrs May's tenure.
But Mr Grayling added: "I think it's really important that what we have now in the wake of the General Election, which was a disappointing result, but we do need Government to carry on with the job.
"We're dealing with some major issues at the moment, around security, around Brexit - we've got to get on with the job.
"We were by far the largest party. Theresa May saw our vote share increase from 36% to 43%.
"The Labour Party is strutting round as if it won the election, we have the shadow chancellor calling people on to the streets to try and overthrow the result of a democratic election, which is an extraordinary place to be, absolutely unacceptable."