Boris Johnson to push pro-Brexit agenda from Tory conference sidelines after blasting PM’s ‘Chequers plan’
The former Foreign Secretary will give a keynote speech at a 'fringe' meeting during the four-day event in Birmingham
BORIS JOHNSON is to spearhead a pro-Brexit push at Tory party conference in a move that threatens to humiliate party bigwigs.
The Sun can reveal the former Foreign Secretary has signed up to give a keynote speech at one ‘fringe’ meeting over the four-day event in Birmingham next month.
And he is in talks to take part in at least one more of the meetings – which take place on the fringes of the main conference hall.
The move will pile pressure on the PM at a crunch moment in Brexit talks.
Tory conference kicks off on September 30, 10 days after Theresa May flies to Salzburg, Austria for showdown talks with EU leaders the week before.
Both the UK and the EU insist they want to agree a framework for a future trading relationship by the end of October.
Mr Johnson has become the figurehead for legions of grassroots activists after panning Theresa May’s ‘Chequers’ soft Brexit plan – which proposes remaining tied to EU rules for goods.
MPs then rallied to his defence last week when Tory chiefs launched a formal investigation into his burka jibes. They claimed it was an attempt by party chair Brandon Lewis to “kneecap” a rival.
One ally of Mr Johnson told The Sun: “Boris has always been the biggest draw at party conference.
“He will make the fringe meeting look like the conference hall and the conference hall will look like a fringe meeting.”
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BORIS has always been “the man” at Tory conference, and today’s revelation he’ll be pontificating from the fringes should focus minds at the top of the party.
Their grassroots activists aren’t exactly known for their tub-thumping but there’s every chance we could see protests if the PM fails to rally them, and the country, behind her Chequers deal.
Earlier this week, it emerged that Brexiteer backbenchers are gearing up to present their alternative plan for our exit.
The Prime Minister has not made the positive case for her Chequers fudge, beyond it being the only strategy going. That might not be enough in the near future.
She must explain how her plan will allow Britain not just to survive but to thrive.
The revelation comes as Tory campaign group - Conservative Voice – warns that a THIRD of its followers would vote for UKIP if there was a General Election tomorrow.
Conservative Voice Don Porter told The Sun: “Only 62 per said they would vote Conservative, with around 30 per cent saying UKIP. And remember this is without UKIP having any real platform or an influential leader.
“The Chequers plan is not the Brexit the majority voted for and it’s time for action.”
Tory MPs earlier this week hit out at the Conservative Party for “clamping down” on fringe meetings amid fears of a public rebuke for the PM.
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One senior Tory said: “There’s going to be a lot of arguing at conference. A lot of members are going and they’re not happy.
“I don’t know what they were thinking in seeking to punish Boris last week. It was one of the stupidest things to do.
“They have no political judgement whatsoever.”The arch Eurosceptic Leave.EU group urged people to join the Tories to back a “true Conservative candidate” to replace Theresa May.
Posting pictures of Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the group backed by former UKIP donor Arron Banks urged people to become a member so they could vote to “put spine back into the Tory party” and “elect a true Brexiteer”.
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