Britain’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must lead as a conservative Prime Minister or risk Labour’s return to power, said former Chancellor Lord Lawson, who today joined the Brexit-backing Independent Group in the Commons.
And he urged Sunak, 59, who became the youngest Prime Minister in the country’s history when he was elected as the leader of the Labour Party last week, to lead a strong conservative coalition instead of an ill-discipline Conservative-led Government.
The former Chancellor told the Independent that there was no option but for Sunak to form a strong conservative government to secure “meaningful change” in Britain.
“That is the only realistic path forward given our political circumstances,” he said.
Sunak, elected on September 24, will become the first Indian Premier in the history of the country when he takes office later this week.
Lord Lawson, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016, was an opponent of Brexit who advocated reaching an agreement with the EU rather than leaving.
He has since become an outspoken critic of Brexit and said during a speech to the UK Institute of Directors in London that he would be “delighted” if Britain left the EU without a deal.
‘Worst possible outcome’
The Independent Group of MPs is being led by Nigel Evans, who quit the Conservative Party in June after becoming concerned that Boris Johnson was “not capable” of leading the party to victory.
He is joined by Lord Oakeshott, a former UKIP leader and prominent Brexit supporter who had to quit the party earlier this year for supporting Johnson during the referendum campaign.
As the leading voices saying that a no-deal Brexit looks like “Plan B”, the Independent Group is the only group in parliament today demanding that Parliament “stop the chaos” and find a solution to the Brexit impasse.
In the Commons, Oakeshott accused Johnson of having “broken our promises” and of “betraying” the British people.
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