"Let's get together", launches Brexit's call to the party

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday called on her party to unite behind her plan to leave the European Union to launch a direct appeal to critics saying her desire to reach a free deal exchange Brexit proposals.

At the start of what should be one of the Conservatives' most violent annual conferences, May's plans were attacked once again by two former ministers, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson calling them "disturbed".

Barely six months before Britain leaves the EU for the country's biggest foreign and trade policy change for more than 40 years, the debate over the block's exit is still raging in the Conservative Party of Britain. center-right and even in the government.

May's already fragile leadership has come under new pressure this month when the EU rejected parts of the Checkers plan. But she gave a positive spin to these discussions, saying that she was ready to take into account the concerns of the EU.

"My message to my party is that we are going together and getting the best deal for Britain," May told the BBC in the central English city of Birmingham.

"At the heart of the Checkers plan, there is a free trade agreement, a free trade zone and a friction free trade … The ladies at the moment are the only plan on the table that answers the Brexit vote … d & # 39, Northern Ireland.

May showed few signs of abandoning her Checkers plan, named after her country residence where she reached an agreement on Brexit with her ministers in July, despite growing criticisms that her proposals offer the worst of all worlds.

Johnson, who resigned from the government after Checkers' agreement, called his plans "deranged" and attacked the prime minister for not believing in Brexit.

"Unlike the Prime Minister, I campaigned for Brexit," Johnson, the bookmaker's favorite in May, told The Sunday Times newspaper.

"Unlike the Prime Minister, I fought for that, I believe it, I think it 's the right thing for our country and I think what is happening now, alas, is n' # 39; is not what people promised in 2016. "

Davis, who like Johnson resigned in protest, said his plan was "just wrong," but he also said that he thought it was likely that the government would make an exit agreement with the EU at 80-90%.

TESTY CONFERENCE

May's team hoped that the party's conference would give it a platform to renew its promise to help those who "are about to manage," trying to distract Brexit and place it in national agenda.

But his first announcement – an additional tax on foreign homebuyers – did not allow a resumption of the conversation on Sunday with a new Brexit dominance, a possible campaign for party leadership and the prospect of a change. early elections.

Johnson's interview in the Sunday Times was seen by many party members as the beginning of a campaign to overthrow May, which angered some Conservatives who criticize the former foreign minister.

May refused to be fired on his comments and did not quote him by name in a long interview with the BBC. But his answer was clear.

"I believe in Brexit," she said.

"But above all, I believe in the realization of Brexit while respecting the vote and the vote of the British people, while protecting our union, protecting jobs and ensuring that Brexit is a future success. some support.

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said that she still believed that May could still succeed in reaching an agreement with the EU, and that the president of his party, Brandon Lewis, said that "I'm going to make a deal with the EU. it could lead to the next elections, scheduled for 2022.

Davidson told Sky News that the EU summit in Salzburg had in fact "slightly cleared the air, we know that officials work closely together".

"I think there is always a basis for an agreement."