Time is of the essence as resigning foreign secretary Boris Johnson, believes the UK can still negotiate a ‘great’ Brexit deal.
Addressing the House of Commons in his resignation speech, Johnson described his 18 months stint as a “fog of self-doubt” with the UK handing over a £40 billion Brexit fee, accepting European Court jurisdiction and the uncertain question of the Northern Irish border.
He also called for Theresa May to tear up her “miserable” plans for close relations with the European Union after Brexit and return to the “glorious vision” of Global Britain which she set out last year.
Read my personal statement to the House of Commons this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Zy6klFWQsr
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 18, 2018
Ensuring his party that there is still time in the Brexit negotiations, in a 12-minute statement he said: “It is not too late to save Brexit.
“We have time in these negotiations. We have changed tack once and we can change again.”
However he denounced the plan agreed at Chequers and set out in the PM’s white paper last week as a “Brexit in name only” which would leave the UK in a state of “vassalage”.
“It’s not too late” @BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/lX7fP8ZL4V
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) July 18, 2018
And he left no doubt of his intention to put himself at the head of Tory backbench forces demanding a return to Mrs May’s original red lines of total withdrawal from the customs union and single market in order to allow Britain the unfettered ability to forge trade deals around the world.