Former Prime Minister David Cameron is about to release his memoirs and with it a wave of accusations aimed at former friend — now foe — Theresa May. It is claimed by his aides that Cameron's advisers called May "lily-livered" after she scuppered his plans for tough new immigration controls. However, the PM's camp hit back by saying she had always wanted to curb immigration and in fact, supported Cameron.
Number 10: No plans to publish Theresa May's two letters on immigration to David Cameron #brexit
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) 26 September 2016
The book "All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class" written by Tim Shipman of the Sunday Times, quotes one Cameron aide saying that then foreign secretary Philip Hammond, argued that they would not be able to get away with an immigration brake. Theresa May apparently said very little but made it clear they could not go against Angela Merkel.
Independent political commentator and editor of politics.co.uk, Ian Dunt said that these revelations were nothing new and something a lot of people have been well aware of.
"It highlights the tension that is there, but what it really shows is that they [May and Cameron] played a refractive dance over immigration. The only thing stopping May was Europe, but Cameron knew they all wanted to stop immigration," Ian Dunt told Sputnik.
Tory Divisions
These revelations have come at a time when other factions have started developing within the Tory camp. For example, Boris Johnson claimed in an interview last week that the PM would have to trigger Article 50 soon.
"If you think about it, there are obviously Euro elections coming down the track. I think people will be wondering whether we want to send a fresh batch of UK Euro MPs to an institution which we are, after all, going to be leaving," Mr. Johnson told the BBC.
His comments were quickly slammed by Mrs. May's spokespeople, who made it clear who would be making the decision as to when Article 50 would be triggered.
"The Government's position is clear. The prime minister has said she will not trigger Article 50 before the end of the year. Ultimately it's her decision," a government spokesperson said.
Allies claim Theresa May did not "disappear from view" during Brexit campaign, but concede her lack of reflection in the mirror is baffling.
— HaveIGotNewsForYou (@haveigotnews) 26 September 2016
Claims that Cameron never really knew where May stood in regards to the EU referendum have also reared their ugly head.
Could this trigger a Tory party split?
"Yes, Brexit will no doubt create catastrophic problems within the party," Mr. Dunt told Sputnik.
"This debate over immigration won't split the party, what will split the party is Brexit. The Tory party will tear itself up over that."
George in the Shadows
Mr. Dunt also claims that the leader of the Brexit fighting brigade will be non-other than former chancellor George Osborne.
Still annoyed at the fact he was not able to be PM, Osborne is a man waiting to pounce, positioning himself in the background — it appears he knows what's coming and it won't be pretty.
"George Osborne is sitting on the backbenchers in Parliament, waiting for an opportunity to pounce over Brexit. He knows it will damage the economy, and no doubt it will. So as soon as it happens, he is waiting for an opportunity to strike," Mr. Dunt told Sputnik.
