Theresa May loses another ministerial aide over her Chequers Brexit plan – the ninth person to quit in just over a week | City A.M.
Another ministerial aide has quit over Theresa May’s Brexit white paper, marking the ninth resignation since she confidently revealed her Chequers agreement just over a week ago.
Scott Mann, parliamentary private secretary at the Treasury and MP for North Cornwall, handed in his resignation this morning, directly citing her direction of travel in negotiations as agreed recently by the Cabinet at Chequers.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said: “I fear that elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me into direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents.
“I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered down Brexit.”
Mann follows a number of others, including senior frontbenchers Boris Johnson and David Davis, as well as more junior colleagues including vice chairs Maria Caulfield and Ben Bradley and PPSs including Robert Courts.
Others include Johnson’s PPS Conor Burns and transport PPS Chris Green, whose resignation tweet garnered a strong reaction from one of his Conservative colleagues.
Your a pps Chris. It is not relevant and nobody gives a fuck. Apart from me obviously.— Simon Hart (@Simonhartmp) July 9, 2018
May has been threatened that she will lose a person every day until she backs down.
It is thought that international development secretary Penny Mordaunt, work and pensions secretary Esther McVey and Brexit minister Suella Braverman could resign in the coming days.
One source told City A.M. Braverman was “virtually under house arrest” to prevent her going. However a pro-Remain MP suggested the more junior nature of the more recent resignations suggested there would be no more ministerial-level movements.