Sam Gyimah, the former Minister for Universities who quit in protest at Theresa May’s deal, has become the thirteenth Conservative leadership candidate, announcing his decision live on air on Sky today. When asked by Niall Paterson if he would like to be the next Conservative leader, Gyimah replied “Well, yes. I will be joining the contest to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister to broaden the race.” He wishes to be the champion of that cause the Tory members are crying out for: a second referendum.
“There is a wide range of candidates out there, but there is a very narrow view on Brexit being discussed” he said. “While there’s a broad sweep of opinion in the country on how we move forward at this critical time that is not being reflected in the contest at the moment.”
BREAKING: Former minister @SamGyimah has told @skynewsniall live on #Ridge that he will be joining the Conservative leadership race. He says there is a "very narrow" set of views on #Brexit.
Follow the latest from the show here: https://t.co/yOIicYEBPZ pic.twitter.com/LbHZdL9ZOA
— Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (@SkyPoliticsHub) June 2, 2019
“We face a very stark and unwelcome choice – it is either no-deal or revoke,” he said. “We want to move forward and we want to be able to bring the country together… I think a final say on a Brexit deal is the way to achieve that.” His number of declared supporters is, currently, zero.
So he launches his leadership bid on two principles: that a second referendum is the best way to “bring the country together” and that the problem with a 12-candidate Tory races is that it was not broad enough.
.@SamGyimah tells #Ridge that he wants the public to have a "final say on the #Brexit deal" and that it's the only way to break "deadlock" in parliament.
He says he's the only Tory leadership candidate supporting another referendum.
Latest here: https://t.co/yOIicYEBPZ pic.twitter.com/Jl5TNjsdOg
— Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (@SkyPoliticsHub) June 2, 2019
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