Return to our values, Johnson urges UK Conservatives

By Elizabeth Piper and William James

 

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson delivers a speech on Brexit at the Policy Exchange in central London, Britain, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

 

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Boris Johnson will say on Tuesday the governing Conservative Party should not "ape" the policies of Britain's opposition Labour and instead return to its true values of low tax and law and order.

 

In a speech that will do little to temper talk that Johnson, who quit government over Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan, is launching a bid to replace her, the Brexit supporter will urge the party to "believe in Conservative values".

 

With just six months to go before Britain leaves the European Union, May's strategy for Brexit has come under criticism from not only the bloc but also from within her party, with Johnson being one of the loudest voices of protest.

 

A report in the Sun newspaper even said that he had been setting out his leadership platform with senior members of the Conservative Party to say he would delay Brexit by at least six months to reset the negotiations.

 

His speech on Tuesday to the party looked set to overshadow May's efforts to present a united front over Brexit and to energise her party to engage with the many millions in Britain who voted for Labour's leftist policies in last year's election, depriving the Conservatives of a parliamentary majority.

 

"We must on no account follow (Labour leader Jeremy) Corbyn, and start to treat capitalism as a kind of boo word," he will say, according to excerpts of his speech.

 

"We can't lose our faith in competition and choice and markets but we should restate the truth that there is simply no other system that is so miraculously successful in satisfying human wants and needs."

 

Conservatives have been left less confident over their election chances after they lost their parliamentary majority in the 2017 poll. They now rely on the backing of a small Northern Irish party to push through laws.

 

Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, which supports the government, said she wanted to see a more positive vision from the Conservative for post-Brexit Britain, in a possible boost for Johnson.

 

BELIEF

"What we want to see, and I'm not making a comparison between Boris and the prime minister, is belief. We want to see that spirit," she told the Telegraph newspaper, adding that she would work with any leader of the Conservative Party.

 

But not everyone is a fan of Johnson. Several members of the cabinet and in the wider party have criticised the former foreign minister for undermining May at a time when the talks to leave the EU are entering one of their toughest phases.

 

His supporters say he is needed to re-energise the party.

 

The Conservatives' conference in the central English city of Birmingham has been a cautious affair compared to a similar meeting of Labour members a week earlier, when the leftist leadership voiced confidence the party could win an election, even an early vote.

 

May has ruled out a snap election - the next one is scheduled for 2022 - but her words have done little to quash a growing belief that if the Brexit talks fail, or parliament votes down any deal, an early vote could follow.

 

Johnson was set to push what he saw was the Conservatives' winning formula in any election.

 

"We should set our taxes to stimulate investment and growth. We should be constantly aiming not to increase but to cut taxes," he will say. "It is the conservative approach that gets things done, so let's follow our conservative instincts."

 

(reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William James; editing by Andrew Roche)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-02

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

"believe in Conservative values".

 

Austerity and privatisation. Then put the blame on the EU.

Stiffing the working class, selling public property to their chums, handing tax breaks to the hyper wealthy.

5 hours ago, Lungstib said:

 

Austerity and privatisation. Then put the blame on the EU.

 Bring back the workhouses, reduce NHS, care and social services, introduce more guarded secure housing areas for the rich and connected - why would anyone think this unfair?

Apparently Boris would postpone Brexit for six months if he topples May according to a report last night.  That in itself shows his total lack of understanding and reality.  It also shows he hasn't got a viable plan either.

Boris for PM. Much better than anyone else on offer 

44 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Boris for PM. Much better than anyone else on offer 

Then god help us all!

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

Boris for PM. Much better than anyone else on offer 

Hear hear! ???? 

Boris Johnson is a nasty and conniving opportunist who will do anything to advance himself and get off with your wife in the meantime. No thanks.

He isn't even particularly a Brexit supporter; just a snollygoster in it for himself.

 

He is, however, welcome to take Mrs baboon off my hands and into his nightmares...

7 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Boris for PM. Much better than anyone else on offer 

 

if so, must be significant ebb in the politician stores then

probably warming and climate based.

 

Boris is a 100% career politician. He would believe in anything if it gave him a chance of being PM. To anyone who can't see that, you are either blind, stupid or both.

Edited October 2, 20187 yr by johnsnapo
Grammar

Newt Gingrich was once described as "a dumb person's idea of a smart person", a term that is wholly appropriate for Johnson, and goes a very long way to explaining his popularity.