May’s Master Plan - A Theory

Cast you mind back to early July 2016.  Imagine you are down to the last two, competing against Andrea Leadsom for the Tory Leadership.  To become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.  You are Theresa May.

Andrea won’t appeal to Remainers, so you have to be perceived as the unity candidate.  Be prepared to be the puppet of the Brexiters, whilst hob-nobbing with the Remainers.

But underneath you have two objectives:
  • Stop Brexit
  • Rid the Tory party of the Europe problem for generations
You know the Brexiters have no plan.  You know that a “no deal” Brexit is unaffordable.  You know a soft Brexit will mean Britain becoming a vassel state, taking not giving guidance on rules and regulations.


THE FOUNDATIONS OF A MASTER PLAN

So what do you do?

Firstly you appoint a Remainer as Chancellor. A pact with Philip Hammond that may mean he is PM in waiting.

Secondly you appoint Brexiters to all the outward-looking cabinet positions- Foreign Secretary, Brexit Minister, foreign trade.

Thirdly you come out with utterly meaningless statements.  “Brexit is Brexit” fits the bill.

Fourthly you hold back on the Article 50 notification, in the hope that it won’t be necessary. But your arm is twisted by the timescales of the EU’s budget cycle.

Then you wait.  And wait.  And wait until circumstances are in alignment.  Then you pounce.

UP TO DATE

When the Brexit negotiations run out of time, you humiliate the Brexiters to accept a soft Brexit.  A proposal you know the EU cannot accept. You get their leader, Jacob, to say the proposal is worse than remaining.  The trap is set.

The Electoral Commission has accused the official Vote Leave campaign of criminal activity.  An excuse to declare the referendum void.

It is then one simple step to withdraw the Article 50 notification.  Tne EU will accept, not least to maintain the annual budget contributions from the UK.  It’s only a matter of how and when.


IT’S ONLY A THEORY

That’s my theory.  A master plan set in July 2016 that has taken longer than I had hoped to come to fruition.

It is only a theory, but I have an inside track.  I used to live in Maidenhead, Theresa May’s constituency.  I’ve met her one-to-one in her clinic to discuss matters of life and death.   She understood quicker than anyone else I know.  She is smart.  Very smart.

I also know people who know her.  Theresa is a gym bunny, would you believe, and a friend often exchanges pleasantries there.  A senior businessman in the town knows her well.  But they both acknowledge that she keeps her real thoughts very close to her chest.  Approaching the 2016 Referendum, was she a Remainer just for purposes of collective responsibility? Was she a closet Leaver?  Or did she really believe Brexit was futile? Nobody yet knows for sure.  Except husband Philip, who is another bright cookie, providing crucial advice to Theresa.

My view is that back in July 2016 she knew Brexit was futile.  She had the vision to achieve her two key objectives, to stop Brexit and to rid the Tory party of its Europe problem.

Now we are days away from the Article 50 withdrawal, with Brexiters put firmly back in their box.

Then she will be hailed a hero for saving the country from the brink of disaster. Rightly so.


A LAST REMAINING PROBLEM

Yet as I write, 11 am Monday 9th, May now faces a potential vote of no confidence from Tory MPs, triggering a leadership election.  In the Commons, the Government could fall.

But at this stage a General Election is the last thing we need.  Hence my plea in my recent Open Letter:


MPs must put aside party politics and put the country first. That means avoiding a Government collapse whilst putting a stop to Brexit.  How is up to them.

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