David Gauke, the former justice secretary, has warned that a Conservative victory in the upcoming general election would put the UK on course for a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020.
Mr Gauke, who was kicked out of the Tory party for voting against Boris Johnson on Brexit, made the comments as he announced he would stand as an independent in his constituency of South West Hertfordshire.
He said he hoped he would help “strengthen the centre ground” by speaking out over his concerns about the prime minister’s approach to leaving the EU.
“A Conservative majority after the next general election will take us in the direction of a very hard Brexit and in all likelihood at the end of 2020, we will leave the implementation period without a deal with the European Union on WTO terms — in effect on no-deal terms,” he told the BBC Today programme on Wednesday.
“That, I believe, would be disastrous for the prosperity of this country. Whole sectors would become unviable. Our agriculture sector, our manufacturing industries will be in a very, very difficult position if we go down that route.”
Mr Gauke claimed that Mr Johnson was “boxed in” by the Brexit party, his own MPs and membership, and would be unable to extend the transition to negotiate the terms of the UK’s new relations with Brussels beyond next year. He added it would take “four, five, six years . . . at the very least three years” to strike a trade deal with the EU. [...]
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