'BoJo' Remaking British Conservative Party

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Brian Lawless/AP)

By Thursday, 05 September 2019 11:37 AM EDT ET Current | Bio | Archive

In recent political maneuvers that left observers worldwide spellbound, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his top political advisor Dominic Cummings began the process of remaking their Conservative Party into a more, pro-Brexit nationalistic party.

When and if the next national election is called, British sources assured Newsmax that the Conservative Party will be a more right-of-center party than before Johnson took over as leader and prime minister.

On Wednesday, 21 Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) had "the whip withdrawn" —a parliamentary expression meaning that the Whip (the Party's appointed individuals to move votes in unison) is removed from contact with the MPs, rendering them no longer a member of that Party's grouping in the House of Commons.

In other words, MPs such as Ken Clarke (after 49 years, the dean of Commons), Nicholas Soames (grandson of Winston Churchill), and Philip Hammond (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) are now technically independents. The 21 had joined with opposition lawmakers to seize control over the Brexit process from Johnson and return it to parliament.  

With potential replacement candidates suggested by the Conservative Party’s Central Office, local constituency associations are almost sure to select new nominees who support Brexit and who will support Johnson on key votes. 

“Tonight is not a defeat but a triumph for Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings,” Ben Harris-Quinney, head of Britain’s oldest conservative organization The Bow Group, told Newsmax, “ They’ve left no doubt to their intentions and determination to leave [the European Union]  by October 31st and  have turned any future election into ‘Parliament versus the People,’ to which [Johnson] can play the people's Brexit champion alongside [Brexit Party leader] Nigel Farage."

Harris-Quinney predicted that "we will now head for a general election where those with the whip withdrawn will be replaced with new candidates. The key question will be whether Boris and Farage will work together. I don’t need to tell you, however, how many ripples tonight's events will send. Cummings has just executed half of the Conservative Party 'Old Guard.'"

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

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John-Gizzi
In recent political maneuvers that left observers worldwide spellbound, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his top political advisor Dominic Cummings began the process of remaking their Conservative Party into a more, pro-Brexit, nationalistic party.
johnson, cummings, brexit, clarke, soames, farage
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2019-37-05
Thursday, 05 September 2019 11:37 AM
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