Conservatives 'so fractured over EU that fresh election needed'

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• published: 29 May 2016
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Conservatives 'so fractured over EU that fresh election needed' The Conservatives will have to hold a fresh election before Christmas under a new leader because the EU referendum campaign has fractured the party so badly, a rebel MP has claimed. Andrew Bridgen made the bold claim as a fellow backbencher, Nadine Dorries, called for David Cameron to quit and the ministers leading the leave campaign launched some of their strongest personal attacks on the prime minister so far. No 10 refused to respond to Tory calls for Cameron to go, saying Cameron was focused on the “big issues” in the campaign. Many Conservatives are dismissive of the claim that there will be a leadership challenge after 23 June because they think MPs such as Bridgen and Dorries are in a small minority. But the fact that some of Cameron’s critics are now openly saying the party needs a new leader illustrates just how badly the referendum campaign has damaged unity, and how hard it will be for the prime minister to repair the damage after polling day. Bridgen, who is voting leave, told BBC’s 5Live that Cameron had been making “outrageous” claims in his bid to persuade voters to back remain and that, as a consequence, he had effectively lost his parliamentary majority.“The party is fairly fractured, straight down the middle and I don’t know which character could possibly pull it back together going forward for an effective government. I honestly think we probably need to go for a general election before Christmas and get a new mandate from the people,” he said. Bridgen said at least 50 Tory MPs – the number needed to call a confidence vote – felt the same way about Cameron and that a vote on the prime minister’s future was “probably highly likely” after the referendum. Dorries, a longstanding Cameron critic, told ITV’s Peston on Sunday she had already submitted her letter to the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee expressing no confidence in the prime minister. “[Cameron] has lied profoundly, and I think that is actually really at the heart of why Conservative MPs have been so angered. To say that Turkey is not going to join the European Union as far as 30 years is a lie.” A leadership contest would only take place if Cameron lost a confidence vote which would be unlikely if the remain campaign wins the referendum. But a sizeable vote against Cameron in a confidence ballot could still prove fatal to his premiership, forcing him to accelerate plans for his departure. Dorries said that if remain won 60/40, Cameron would probably survive. “If remain win by a narrow majority, or if leave win, he’s toast within days,” she said. The Conservative MP Steve Baker said Bridgen “[had] a point” about how unsympathetic backbenchers were towards Cameron’s EU stance. Baker claimed only about 30 were very strongly committed to remain – and he said he thought there could be “a problem” for the prime minister after 23 June. But more senior figures in Tory Brexit camp backed Cameron and insisted a confidence vote would not happen because the rebels would not get enough support. “I don’t think there are 50 colleagues gunning for the prime minister,” said Chris Grayling, the justice secretary. “I can assure you that those people who fought to win their seats 12 months ago are definitely not gunning for a general election by Christmas.” Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee, said Bridgen’s intervention was “unfortunate” and that the party had to pull together after the referendum. Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, said the party would need “a period of stability” after the referendum and that it would be best for Cameron to stay as prime minister. Iain Duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, also said he was not in favour of replacing Cameron.In a particularly personal attack that seemed clearly aimed at Cameron and the chancellor, George Osborne, tPriti Patel, the employment minister, used an article in the Sunday Telegraph to say it was “shameful” that wealthy remain campaigners did not realise how much harm mass immigration was doing to the poor.... Tags : news,technology,sports,health,news today,world news,US news,today news,current news ex: theguardian.com