Brexit is about to 'destroy' the Tory Party and Theresa May, says Michael Portillo
The latest Brexit developments will “destroy” the Conservative Party, Michael Portillo has warned.
Speaking on the BBC1 politics show This Week, the former deputy leader of the Conservatives said there was no chance Mrs May’s deal would get past MPs.
He also insisted that no-deal was off the table – but the prospect of revoking Article 50 and stopping Brexit was equally unlikely.
Instead, he painted a particularly gloomy picture for the Tory Party in his predictions for the coming weeks.
He said: “I think Parliament will try to take over the process – Parliament may well succeed. What emerges from that will be unacceptable to Mrs May.
“Mrs May will resign before April 12 and, before April 12, an interim leader of the Conservative Party – I suppose it would be David Lidington, the deputy prime minister will say he will want to explore with the EU an alternative.”
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He added: “Maybe something has emerged by then from the House of Commons, like the Norway option, and therefore we need a long extension
“As a result of all of that there will be a sort of outbreak of peace between us and the European Union – and absolutely mayhem in the Conservative party.”
He later added: “It’s not going to be ‘No deal’ and it’s not going to be revocation [of Article 50]. So it’s got to be something in between… and it destroys the Conservative Party’
“What will happen will be a new start under a new leader and that will take a long time.”
If Mrs May’s deal is rejected for a third time, Parliament will have until April 12 to consider alternative options.
But if it is accepted, Brexit will happen with a deal in place on May 22.
