Both former mayor of London Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who are vying to become the next British prime minister, previously outlined their desire to negotiate a better divorce bill with the EU, in an effort to avoid a no deal departure from the bloc, with Johnson even claiming that the UK will sever ties with Brussels on the revised deadline of 31 October by any means necessary.
The Brexit Party’s Diane James reflected on how could the scenario pan out regarding the fact that the House of Commons is likely to prevent whoever replaces Theresa May in Number Ten Downing Street from prorouging parliament to drag Brexit over the line and the EU seems certain to stick to its guns. She also made a prediction concerning Johnson's chances for success in the wake of the recent diplomatic spat between British ambassador to Washington Sir Kim Darroch and US President Trump.
Sputnik: Will the EU necessarily not renegotiate Theresa May’s Brexit deal?
Diane James: Let’s put this into context first of all; Ursula is a fervent Europhile, she is somebody who is absolutely committed to the United States of Europe, and she is so committed to stopping Brexit and achieving a second referendum, so we’re getting what I call hard ball language from her.
She’s also brandishing her credentials because she’s still not assured of that job remember, and there’s still an awful lot to play for, so she’s really just trying to play up her credentials in terms of defending the Brexit deal that Barnier supposedly negotiated, and which has led to the downfall of our existing Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson knows full well that the Conservative Party is under severe threat from the Brexit Party, that the voters out there will have no truck whatsoever with a further extension, and if the Conservative Party government does not deliver by Halloween; then quite frankly the Conservative Party is finished, and so are his hopes of being Prime Minister.
Sputnik: Could the EU grant another extension for Article Fifty?
Diane James: I don’t think that the EU has yet capitulated completely and said they will allow another extension, that’s still something that is like a card up their sleeves. The glimmer of hope that Boris Johnson can now grasp is the fact that the likes of Amber Rudd; who until now has stated that no deal could not be countenance, she has suddenly now done a big U-turn, and her words were saying that it can be part of the armoury.
Boris Johnson is going to take a lot of positives from that U-turn. He’s probably never ever going to be able to satisfy the likes of Dominic Grieve and such, but quite frankly if Dominic Grieve and his cohorts really want to bring down a Conservative government in the knowledge that the Conservatives could probably never form another government for at least two decades; do they really want that on their political epitaph?
Sputnik: Will the fallout from the recent diplomatic spat between the British ambassador to Washington and American President Trump hinder Boris Johnson’s chances of becoming the next British PM?
Diane James: I call it a storm in a teacup; I do think the ambassador was incredibly stupid to even put that sort of comment in something that could either be hacked or leaked. He was there to feedback to the UK government his thoughts and his issues, his perceptions about the state of USA politics, but he should have done that in the absolute confidence that his comments were confidential, could not be hacked, and could not be leaked.
If he could not guarantee that himself; then he should never have made them in writing, simple as that, so I think we do have an individual who’s had to fall on his sword, but because of his own stupidity, simple as that.
*The views expressed by the speaker do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
