Andrew Willshire

Rory Stewart is right: the shock of a no-deal Brexit would be fatal for the Tories

As a white, straight male, it’s not often that I get to feel in a minority but at the Spectator Brexit debate – as a Leave voter in favour of Theresa May’s deal – it was apparent that I’m an endangered species on a par with the white rhino. But I also found that I have an eloquent champion: Rory Stewart, the prisons minister, who gave the best case that I have heard for the deal

He was on stage with Dominic Raab, on the opposite end of the pragmatism spectrum. Raab, in effect, argued for a no-deal Brexit, while Stewart mounted a most robust defence of the May deal, vigorously taking on all-comers to modest effect. As the evening wore on, I found myself increasingly sympathising with Stewart’s plea for compromise and far less persuaded by Raab’s (to me) naive optimism. Having been an ardent Brexiteer, I found it hard to express why that should be. But on reflection, I think I have it.

Despite it being 28 years since Margaret Thatcher was forced from office and five years since her death, she is still a hate figure across much of the country. No other British political figure casts such a long shadow. People who weren’t born when she was Prime Minister have been brought up to despise her and the wider Conservative Party. We are approaching a moment which chimes with Thatcher’s last days; a female Prime Minister brought down by her party over Europe. But the comparisons go deeper.

Thatcher is reviled because she was responsible for the sudden and harsh economic change which affected millions. There is no doubt in my mind that the country overall benefited from her actions. The economic medicine that she prescribed was effective – when she departed Britain was no longer a basket case economy.

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