Hard Brexit will breed new bigotry, warns former Tory minister

Nicky Morgan raises fears on eve of party conference that lurch to the right could encourage attitudes like those of Donald Trump

A “hard Brexit” in which the UK turns its back on the EU single market and closes its borders to European citizens risks encouraging bigoted attitudes like those of Donald Trump, a former cabinet minister in David Cameron’s government will say on Sunday.

The warning from Nicky Morgan, who was sacked as education secretary by Theresa May in July, will light the touchpaper on arguments over Brexit that look certain to dominate the prime minister’s first Conservative party conference as leader, which begins in Birmingham on Sunday.

May, who is under intense pressure from rival Tory groups to give more detail about her approach to leaving the EU, will seek to end any lingering doubts that Brexit will happen by announcing a great repeal bill, expected in the next Queen’s speech, that will formally remove the 1972 European Communities Act from the statute book.

The bill, which if passed will come into force on the day of exit, will convert existing EU law into domestic law while allowing parliament to amend, repeal or improve any laws after full scrutiny by both the Commons and Lords.

David Davis, the secretary of state for exiting the European Union, will tell the Tory conference: “At the moment we leave, Britain must be back in control. And that means EU law must cease to apply.” He will add: “It will be for elected politicians here to make the changes to reflect the outcome of our negotiations and our exit. That is what people voted for: power and authority residing once again with the sovereign institutions of our country.”

But hopes in Downing Street that the pledge will draw a line under rows over Brexit, allowing May to showcase more of her domestic agenda for the rest of the conference, will be dashed when the debate explodes at dozens of meetings on the conference fringe.

Morgan, in her new role as chair of the moderate Conservative Mainstream group, will say the party is in danger of surrendering the centre ground of politics if the hardline anti-EU right prevails. She has recently locked horns with May by opposing plans to expand the number of grammar schools.

In her speech, parts of which she released to the Observer, Morgan will say: “There are some who interpret the 23 June vote as giving a licence to harsher rhetoric and returning to policies which have been rejected in the past. Who seem to want to return to the days we spoke to ourselves rather than the public at large.

“There are already those for whom the referendum result is not enough – they want us to have a ‘hard Brexit’ that cuts us off from the EU, turns our back on the single market and allows people to say things about their fellow citizens that promote intolerance and bigotry.”

Morgan is emerging as one of the most vocal adherents of a “soft Brexit”, which would retain as much access to the single market as possible, even if this means negotiating some continuation of freedom of movement rules.

She will argue that under David Cameron “it was easy to be complacent and assume that the moderate centre had prevailed, but the Brexit referendum showed all too clearly the battle of ideas is far from won”.

She will add that Tories should ask “hard questions” about Brexit but must at all costs avoid lurching to the right, as elements of the Republican party did in the US, opening the way for a Trump candidacy in the presidential election.

“The next general election is not in the bag and we have many, many marginal seats to defend and more to gain. Look at what happened to the moderate mainstream Republicans in America who didn’t defend their views against a Tea Party-led lurch to the right – eventually they ended up with Donald Trump as their candidate.”

The pro-EU elements of the Tory party increasingly fear that May, Johnson, Davis and Fox are preparing for a “hard Brexit” – leaving the EU single market and accepting that as the price to be paid for curbing immigration and restoring control of UK borders. A group of Tory MPs and former cabinet ministers who want to leave the EU as soon as possible and quit the single market say that May must be prepared to walk away from formal Brexit negotiations under article 50 of the Lisbon treaty if the European commission and other EU leaders refuse swiftly to accept her terms.

Writing in the Observer on behalf of the group, which includes Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood and Owen Paterson, the chair of the public administration select committee, Bernard Jenkin, says: “A growing number of people support a speedy and clean break with the EU.” He adds that May must be ready to play hardball with Brussels. “We need to be aware that article 50, as intended, could tie us up in knots. So we must be prepared to leave without any formal agreement if necessary, or the commission has us over a barrel.”

A new “hard Brexit” campaign group is to launch in Birmingham under the name Leave Means Leave, set up by businessman Richard Tice. The group issued a report on Saturday saying that May should trigger article 50 early next year and make a commitment to be out of the EU by early 2019. Former chairman of the British Chambers of Commerce John Longworth announced that he was joining the group as a co-chairman.

The latest Opinium/Observer poll puts the Tories on 38% and Labour on 31%, with Ukip on 16% and the Liberal Democrats on 5%. Theresa May is seen by 44% of voters as the best prime minister, as against 17% who say Jeremy Corbyn would do the best job.

Contributor

Toby Helm Observer political editor

The GuardianTramp

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