How the Tory Rivals for PM Reckon They Can Fix Brexit
Published Date: 6/18/2019
Source: news.yahoo.com
(Bloomberg) -- Five Conservatives are still in the running to succeed Theresa May as U.K. prime minister, with Boris Johnson the front-runner.Each has their own vision of how to fix Brexit: All want to deliver on the referendum result of 2016, all but one want to renegotiate the divorce agreement – even though the European Union has said it won’t – and most think the no-deal route should at least be on the table. Conservative MPs continue to whittle down the list to a final two, who will then be  put to a postal ballot of the party’s 160,000 members. The new prime minister is expected to be announced during the week of July 22.Boris JohnsonWho?  The favorite to succeed May, Johnson, 54, quit as foreign secretary last July over her Brexit deal. He was the highest profile campaigner in the  2016 referendum, and used to be London mayor. On Brexit: He has vowed to take Britain out of the bloc on Oct. 31 with or without an agreement to order the exit. But he says he’s not aiming for a no-deal outcome. He’s threatened to withhold the 39 billion-pound ($49 billion)  divorce bill if the EU doesn’t improve the terms, and wants to strip out the controversial Irish backstop and discuss solutions for the border as part of the future trade negotiation. The EU has previously said no to similar proposals.Other policies: Johnson advocates cutting business taxes and red tape. He’s proposed tax cuts for higher earners too, according to the Telegraph. He also wants to boost transport infrastructure and broadband, and raise spending on schools and the police.Also: Born in New York, Johnson gave up his American citizenship in 2016. He’s published books on the Romans, London and wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill.Jeremy HuntWho?  Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, 52, has been in the Cabinet since 2010. He was the U.K.’s longest-serving health secretary. He voted Remain in 2016 but is now a “born again Brexiteer.”On Brexit: He wants to renegotiate. He’s open to a delay as a better alternative to no-deal, which he says would prompt a  general election in which the Tories could be “annihilated.”Other Policies:  Promises to “turbo-charge” the economy after Brexit to make it “the most high-tech, greenest, most pro-enterprise, pro-business economy in Europe.”Also: Hunt is independently wealthy, earning about 15 million pounds in 2017 from the sale of an educational listings company he founded, Hotcourses. He once mistakenly referred to his Chinese wife as Japanese.Michael GoveWho? Gove, 51, has held Cabinet positions including education secretary, justice secretary, and most recently, environment secretary. In the last leadership election, he was going to run Johnson's campaign before declaring he'd run himself. He was one of the figureheads of the Leave campaign.On Brexit: He wants to renegotiate the deal, to put a “full stop” on the Irish border backstop. He says a no-deal Brexit wouldn’t be in Britain’s interests, and because Parliament is opposed, it would prompt an election that Labour could win. He’s open to delaying Brexit by “whatever is required” to get it done.Other policies:  Gove has said EU citizens currently in the U.K. should be able to apply for citizenship for free. He has proposed scrapping value-added tax and replacing it with a simpler sales tax.Also:  He admitted to using cocaine on several occasions when he was a journalist, but said he deeply regrets it now.Rory StewartWho? Stewart, 46, is one of the newest members of May’s Cabinet, having been appointed international development secretary on May 1. He served as a deputy governor in Iraq following the 2003 allied invasion. He voted Remain.On Brexit: He says there’s no hope of renegotiating May’s deal, and would accept delaying Brexit again to get a deal through. He rejects both a second referendum and a no-deal Brexit, which he describes as “not actually a destination, it’s a failure to reach a destination.” He would also look to change the political declaration on the future relationship with the EU and try to get Labour MPs onside.Other policies: Once Brexit is out of the way, Stewart has said he wants to get on to dealing with “climate, health, education and all the thousand small injustices of daily life which very sadly are not being addressed.” He pledges more resources for schools and the police, investment in regional infrastructure and increasing spending on research and development. He would sell off the government’s stake in RBS.Also: Stewart once tutored Prince William and Prince Harry. He’s walked across Asia, including a 32-day trek across Afghanistan that he then turned into a best-selling book. In May, he admitted in a Telegraph interview to taking a puff on an opium pipe while walking across Iran.Read more:  Underdog Gives Tory Big Beasts a Fright in U.K. Leader Race Sajid JavidWho? A former Deutsche Bank trader, Javid, 49, has been an MP since 2010. Promoted to the Cabinet in 2014 as culture secretary, he then held the briefs for business and communities, before being promoted to home secretary last year. He voted Remain, despite holding Euroskeptic views.On Brexit:  He wants to renegotiate. He would choose a no-deal Brexit over no exit at all, but favors leaving with an agreement. He has a plan to rework the backstop. He rejects extending negotiations beyond Oct. 31 and would continue no-deal preparations, including a new budget.Other Policies: Javid has pledged to cut taxes, saying that “simpler, flatter taxes should be a priority for any government.” Opposes “arbitrary” immigration targets.Also: Javid is one of five sons of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, and his father was a bus driver. He has a portrait of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in his office.  \--With assistance from Jess Shankleman.To contact the authors of this story: Alex Morales in London at [email protected] Hutton in London at [email protected] contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Biggs at [email protected], Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.