Justine Greening Remains Silent On No Confidence Vote
Having last week claimed that second referendum is only way to break Brexit 'gridlock'
Local MP Justine Greening has so far not commented on tonight's vote of no confidence in Theresa May. Her name is not among the 27 MPs who have publicly revealed that they have submitted letters to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives. At least 48 members of the Conservative Party had to put in writing that they have lost confidence in Theresa May in order to trigger tonight's ballot.
Similarly Ms Greening is not among the list of MPs who have publicly expressed their support for Mrs May this morning. However, as tonight's ballot is secret, it's worth keeping in mind that MPs are not bound to vote as they publicly declare.
At the end of October this year Ms Greening hinted on Good Morning Britain that she had not ruled out aspirations to lead the country. While promoting her Social Mobility pledge, Ms Greening was quizzed by presenters on a potential leadership bid and asked that if there was a vacancy for PM would she put her case forward? Ms Greening replied she "might be prepared to".
Last week Ms Greening - the MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields - told the House of Commons she believes that both Leavers and Remainers in her constituency oppose Theresa May's proposed Brexit deal and therefore the only real alternative is to ‘ask the people’ about the issue.
Ms Greening has warned the government that parliament will be gridlocked no matter what deal is put to it, and said that the impasse can only be broken by a second referendum. This July she became one of the first Tory MPs to endorse the idea of a 'People's Vote'.
She is claiming that arrangements for the vote could be put in place within 22 weeks which would mean a postponement of the projected date to leave the EU. Last week the European Court of Justice confirmed that the UK could revoke Article 50 and halt plans to leave the EU with no impact on the country’s membership.
“Here we’ve got just 26 pages, a proposed deal on leaving the European union is perhaps the ultimate national policy statement, yet we’ve virtually nothing, it’s the political equivalent of being asked to jump out of a plane without knowing if your parachute is there and attached, it’s like agreeing to move out of your house without knowing where you’re going to live next or not even having agreed the sales price but selling out and signing a contract anyway," said Ms Greening of Mrs May's deal.
“None of us would do this in our own lives, yet this Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration asks us to do it on behalf of our country.
“This Brexit deal is not the Brexit that Leave campaigners campaigned for, and it is not the Brexit that Leave voters voted for, it is not delivering on the result of the 2016 referendum.”
The Prime Minister has previously ruled out the possibility of a second referendum and says that her deal is the only way to deliver the referendum result.
We have asked Ms Greening for comment on her position regarding today's confidence vote.
December 12, 2018