‘Start talking up Britain and Brexit to save Conservatives from collapse’

Rishi Sunak clashes with Diana Johnson over small boats The Prime Minister has been warned he must start talking up the positives of Brexit Britain again or face election disaster. With two polls revealing the Tories are heading for an election wipeout with potentially less than 100 seats, desperate Conservative MPs have warned that Mr Sunak has to move off ‘the gloom and doom’ agenda of Remainers and Labour. Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, who was one of the Tories to break the Labour red wall and now chairs the Blue Collar Conservative Group, told the Daily Express: “We have got to remember what won us an enormous majority in 2019. We are the party of Brexit and opportunity. ‘We are positive about this country’s achievements and its potential especially with Brexit. We have to start talking up Brexit and Britain again and not just accept the gloom and doom narrative of the lefty Remainers.” Polling now suggests that 40 percent believe the UK could rejoin the EU. Rishi Sunak needs to talk Brexit Britain up according to MPs Meanwhile, a Techne UK tracker poll for the Daily Express revealed only a third of 2016 Leave voters (34 percent) would vote Conservative while 44 percent of those who backed the party in 2019 have abandoned them. Former Brexit minister now deputy chairman of European Research Group of Tory MPs David Jones was blunt in his assessment of the struggling Sunak government failing to make the positive case for Brexit. Writing for Express.co.uk today, he warned: ‘Scarcely a day goes by when some prominent Europhile is not blaming Brexit for all the ills of the world and urging us to return to the orbit of Brussels. ‘A couple of weeks ago, Labour’s David Lammy was proclaiming that a closer relationship with the EU would be the ‘number one priority’ of a Starmer government. ‘And earlier this week my Conservative colleague Tobias Ellwood was calling for the UK to rejoin the Single Market, on the grounds that ‘Brexit has failed’.’ Liam Fox is being tipped for a return to government SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info He went on: ‘The Remainers’ plan, no doubt, is to keeping pumping out this gloomy narrative until the British people decide that Brexit isn’t worth the candle and demand to return to the tender embrace of Ursula von der Leyen and Emanuel Macron.’ But he listed a string of successes including the vaccine rollout, leadership over Ukraine and trade deals pointedly adding: ‘I’m proud of Brexit and don’t share the despondent message the Rejoiners are putting about. I know that Government ministers feel the same way, too. I just wish they’d say so more often.’ However, a Downing Street spokeswoman insisted that the Prime Minister, who supported Leave in 2016, has been talking about the benefits of Brexit and putting them into action. She said: “Just look at the long term workforce plan and some of the reform agenda in it. “If we hadn’t left the EU, we wouldn’t have been able to change nurse training from five years to four years (because of EU rules). “The Prime Minister was talking that up at the press conference last week. “The Retained EU Law Bill (allowing the UK to get rid of EU regulations) was passed without any rebellion.” She also pointed out that the Prime Minister championed the creation of Freeports. Among Britain’s many Brexit successes are the rapid rollout of the vaccine free from EU bureaucracy, the Trans Pacific deal with 11 of the world’s fastest growing economies, 20 enormous deals with US states for Britain’s services industry, not having to pay £80 billion to the EU bailout fund, trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and a new mutual recognition deal with Brazil. Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, revealed that there are now “thousands of extra jobs” in the City as a result of Brexit. Hayward cited of the UK’s continued pull post Brexit was WE Soda – the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash – making its debut on the London Stock Exchange. The initial public shares offer is expected to raise £645 million. Added to that he pointed out that last month Canada’s largest asset managers, Alberta Investment Management Company, announced plans to more than double its headcount in London and invest billions into the UK as they hailed London as more of a gateway to Asia and Europe than New York. Similar recent moves from other large global investors including $102billion Australian superannuation fund Aware Super. Trending In the Techne UK poll, the Tories were 21 points behind Labour which would leave them with just 84 seats while in a Yougov poll yesterday they were 25 points behind. Former International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, who is being tipped to return to the Cabinet to help save the Sunak government, has urged the Prime Minister to start being positive again. He said: ‘Since 2016 (the year of the EU refrendum) cumulative growth in Italy has been four percent, in Germany has been 5.5 percent, in the UK has been 6.8 percent. “In May last year British exports to the EU were not just the highest since Brexit but since records began. “The UK had the highest growth in any G7 country in 2021 and 2022. The eurozone is currently in recession, we are not. “Is it not time we heard more good news talking Britain up.” It is understood Mr Sunak is also being urged to bring in experienced Brexiteers into his Cabinet in an expected reshuffle later this month. One name tipped “to help turn around the narrative” is trade secretary Dr Liam Fox. A Whatsapp group of Tory MPs has also been set up to help push a more positive approach to the state of the UK and its Brexit successes. Former Brexit minister David Jones wants a more positive attitude