Dominic Raab effectively kick-starts a leadership battle as he refuses to join calls to dump the PM but vows to vote against her deal
The chaos has increased the odds of a No Deal Brexit as Tory favourite Mr Raab said it would be better for Britain than Theresa May's half-in, half-out humiliation
ODDS on a No Deal Brexit soared last night as Tory favourite Dominic Raab insisted it was better for Britain than Theresa May’s botched half-in, half-out Brino humiliation.
At least, that’s what it sounded like to me . . .
While pledging loyalty to the PM, the black belt karate champ effectively kicked open the door for a leadership challenge in which he is already front-runner.
Mr Raab refused to join calls to dump the PM but vowed to vote against the deal, increasing her chances of a looming Commons defeat.
The chaos could deliver the No Deal Brexit confected by shroud-waving Remoaners as the prelude to economic chaos and mass unemployment.
Fear-mongering like this has lost much of its power since Treasury Brexit scare stories about plague and pestilence turned out to be lies.
Despite Brexit, Britain has the best jobs record in Europe and steady economic growth.
But Mr Raab has broken cover as the first major figure to argue the case for Britain walking away from the EU and thriving outside on World Trade Organisation terms. He admitted leaving without a deal would cause a temporary headache.
But that would be better for British workers than surrendering to job-destroying EU rules and regulations.
We would be free to grab the “huge opportunities that have been almost totally eclipsed” in Brexit wrangles so far, he said.
Refreshingly, Mr Raab also rubbished Remoaner Chancellor Philip Hammond’s “irresponsible” forecasts of economic doom and gloom.
A new Chancellor would put “rocket boosters under the UK economy”, he predicted.
Mr Raab, who quit Cabinet last week claiming he had been shafted by civil servants, declined to join a “no confidence” vote against the PM.
But he insisted her deal was unacceptable unless it was renegotiated to allow Britain to leave at any time it chose.
His ultimatum puts Mrs May’s threadbare grip on power under stress amid demands from five Cabinet ministers for her to reopen talks with Brussels.
Mrs May will refuse, forcing the rebel ministers to join the Cabinet exodus and triggering a scramble between Mr Raab, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt and half a dozen others for the top job.
With Mrs May’s deal unacceptable at any price, Brexiteers are increasingly prepared to back a clean break without any deal at all.
They are no longer terrified by threats of economic catastrophe, a crisis election and a Jeremy Corbyn triumph after Mrs May’s own election meltdown last year.
They are fed up with Phil Hammond recklessly putting the national interest at risk by refusing to spend a penny on the customs, border and security preparations required for a No Deal.
Now the Army has been suddenly called in amid alarm over alleged food and medicine shortages and blockaded ports.
Mr Raab dismisses the scare stories as nonsense.
“If we have a real grip on border crossings, we could re-route traffic to Dutch and Belgian ports which are really keen on that trade,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr.
“The Treasury could put rocket boosters under the economy to see us through what I admit would be a difficult period.
“If we take the money we would otherwise give to the EU and give it to business, we would see that through.
“In the longer term we would be able to take advantage of the huge opportunities that have been almost totally eclipsed from the current narrative.”
This is the real Brexit nightmare — and it haunts Brussels, not the UK.
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EU leaders are terrified of Britain flourishing outside its borders as a low-tax investment magnet trading prosperously with the whole world.
Those Tories paralysed by fear of Jeremy Corbyn should remember one thing — he is the real threat to the economy, not Brexit.
They will only lose the next election if they betray 17.4million people who voted out.
Along with disenchanted Remainers, they see Theresa May’s deal as a crock of rubbish. They will not vote for it.
They will vote for the party that makes Brexit work.
And they will put up with a few temporary hardships along the way.
Don’t we just love to turn the other cheek?
IN Blackburn Cathedral, an imam issues the Muslim call to prayer, declaring: “There is no other God but Allah.”
Could a vicar recite The Lord’s Prayer in a mosque and escape in one piece?
Meanwhile, the Saudi-funded Islam Channel screens messages to one million UK viewers advocating violence against women and supporting marital rape.
A key presenter is described as “one of the most dangerous men in Britain”, another suggests killing gay people is part of Islam and a third brands it a sin to write “Merry Christmas”.