Theresa May had nearly got to the end of the working day with no resignations. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Two Tory vice-chairs – Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield – have handed in their respective resignations over the Prime Minister’s Chequers proposals. What will worry No 10 is not that they now need to find a Tory vice-chair for young people and another for women – that will be possible and they may well come with fewer issues than these two. Instead, what will ring alarm bells is that neither can be described as an ardent Brexiteer.
Bradley was a Remain-er in the EU referendum but represents a Leave seat. In contrast, Caulfield is a Brexiteer who represents a Remain constituency. Their decision to go suggests that the unease within the party over the softening of the government’s Brexit position goes well beyond the usual suspects – Bill Cash, Bernard Jenkin and Peter Bone.
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