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LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul 2019
THE UK’S SKILLS and Apprenticeships Minister Anne Milton has resigned from the role, saying she has “grave concerns about leaving the EU without a deal”, while Justice Minister David Gauke has also signalled he is leaving the front bench.
It comes after Boris Johnson was confirmed as the new Conservative Party leader this afternoon, with the Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP due to become the new prime minister tomorrow.
“And so I feel it’s time for me to return to the backbenches,” Milton wrote in a letter to Theresa May today.
Milton has served in three Departments since 2010, and was the first woman to serve as Deputy Chief Whip. In her letter to May, she spoke about the importance of further education and the “universally inspiring” apprentices she has met.
“This has not been an easy decision for me to make… [but] we must leave the EU in a responsible manner.”
I have always believed that our departure from the European Union should be centered around future cooperation, and I had sincerely hoped we would have been able to leave the EU in March with a deal in place. I very much regret that this was not possible.
Milton joins other members of government, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who’ve said they would resign if Johnson becomes Prime Minister due to his support of a no-deal Brexit.
Justice Minister Gauke is also on the way out, tweeting earlier that it had been an “honour to serve in Cabinet”.
Yesterday, Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan resigned ahead of Johnson’s impending appointment, and Secretary of State for International Development Rory Stewart has said he will also resign over Johnson’s Brexit policy.
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Very childish IMO and only doing it for the headlines.
If Boris is elected, it’s up to him to select who he wants in his cabinet. This MP should wait to see if her service is requested, and then refuse if she fees so strongly.
Instead, they probably know they won’t be selected and want some limelight. Fairly selfish.
@Mushy Peas: you know what they say about opinions…
@Mushy Peas:
Boris has repeatedly said he only wants hard brexiteers in his cabinet, she has repeatedly said she is against a no deal brexit.
Any attempt to appease Boris to save her job would come across as pretty desperate (Amber Rudd).
It’s the only way she can save a tiny amount of dignity from the whole mess.
@SFNutters: take it or leave it, but the fact it’s there means it can be rebuked with a good argument, not a one liner …
@Patrick Nolan: I haven’t seen him say that, the way you put it. I think he will try have a relatively diverse cabinet, within reason as many pro-Remain, sorry anti-no Deal, cabinet quality MPs have indicated they would not serve.
I don’t think ERG members will even make up half the cabinet, but let’s see…
@Mushy Peas: given Boris is Boris literally anything could have happened up to the vote yesterday that would have scuppered his election. She held out until she knew it was hopeless. Can’t blame her for that.
@Mushy Peas: why give the impression you are willing to work with someone if you have no intention. I see nothing wrong with her quiting.
@Mushy Peas: sometimes a one liner is all that is required (case in point)
@Mushy Peas: I don’t necessarily think it’s for the limelight. More a very public resigning to ensure Boris, Brexiteers, remainers all know that quite a few of the Tory party will not allow a no deal to happen.
@Mushy Peas:
He has said everyone has to be committed to brexit by October “deal or not”. That is a hard brexit position.
I doubt there will be any remainers in his cabinet.
@Mushy Peas: “take it or leave it, but the fact it’s there means it can be rebuked with a good argument, not a one liner …” SF is right, a one liner is all that’s required.
Just a question, the tone and lack of substance, are you applying to be Trump’s Twitter writer…?
@Mushy Peas: “I don’t think”….”I don’t think”
I’ll refer you to the earlier comment about opinions….
The Tory Party acquired over 40,000 new members over the last year, pushing them up to 160,000.00
It’s hardly surprising that Boris got the nod. The figures indicate that “nearly 80 percent of those who joined since 2017 support a no-deal Brexit, compared with 60 percent from before 2015, according to research by Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London.”
@Tricia G: 160.000.00 ? What do the last couple of zeros after the 160.000 represent
?
@Barry Teehan: What can I say, I’m used to typing figures with decimal places…….
@Tricia G: So, you work in a bank then
Having a minister called the minister for skills is just asking for jokes
@Jake Kelly: we use to have a Minister for small potatoes.
@Jake Kelly:
We have a minister for health…
And he’s a joke.
@tommytukamomo: comment of the week
@aidan mccormack: The Swiss have a minister for the navy, even though Switzerland has no sea. The Irish have a minister for finance, even though…
Just as people chasing validation go on comments and type “first” This lady can now claim the honour of being first to jump and her name grabs the news cycle first and allows her a brief period of central attention in the short term and in the long term her Wikipedia page is now 50% increasing in content.
@Martin: Alan Duncan resigned as a Foreign Office minister yesterday, for the same reason…
And attempted to schedule a vote of confidence today. The new PM’s first day.
@Mushy Peas: tomorrow will be his first day as PM
do these mp’s still get their salaries and pensions if they resign ? do they (like mep’s) get a ‘disappointment’ payment? and if they leave the party -do they still get to hold onto their seat in parliament ? if so is that not wrong ? if they were voted in as a representative of the tory party and then they move to say the lib dems – then they should have to give up their seat and fight a bye election for that constituency – they were elected for one party not the other .
@Eric Davies: questions that gave nothing to do with the story, she resigned from the front bench, not the party. To answer part of your question, MPs can move party allegiance without a bye election
@Eric Davies: Are you a complete moron asking such stupid questions.
@John O’Halloran: well that escalated quickly
Deal or no-deal, Brexit proves that democracy not always is the right thing.
Can’t leave decisions impacting millions of people, not only of your own country, in the hands of the citizens.
I wish UK will take a giant step back on the whole Brexit.
@Proudly Italian: democracy is the worst type of government, except for all the others.
@Proudly Italian: for most of Europe you are absolutely right … democracy has yet to be proven as a sustainable political model. But don’t worry, in this era of weaker Anglo American influence and their stated none interventionism policy it’s unlikely to be around for too long. You’ll have rid of this messy democratic nonsense before you can say Il Duce.
The lunatics have taken over the asylum
Shows the difference between Irish and British cabinet ministers
@William Bryan: Not really it is a different system
Drain the swamp
World gone bad! Looney tunes characters Boris Trump Putin Kim. Muppets
Trump and Boris the Russian should be great fun listening to what they have to say
have your say