Tories reveal three cast-iron election manifesto pledges to ensure Brexit goes ahead

Election: Prime Minister Theresa May
REUTERS
Chloe Chaplain20 April 2017
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Theresa May is set to ensure her Brexit plans cannot be blocked by Remainers after a series of watertight Tory manifesto pledges were revealed today.

The Prime Minister is set to include pledges that will lock party members and peers into backing her stance as the UK withdraws from the European Union.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Mrs May’s manifesto will include guarantees to end free movement of EU citizens, to leave the European single market, and to end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

Including these pledges in the manifesto makes it extremely difficult for party members who voted to Remain to rebel on the issues if the party wins the snap election on June 8.

Peers would also be forced to back the priorities under the Salisbury Convention, which means that the Lords will not try and vote down government plans mentioned in an election manifesto.

A Tory source told the newspaper: “All Conservative candidates will have to stand on the manifesto – it will lock them in and provide a much stronger mandate.

“It will also send a message to the House of Lords that they cannot get in the way.”

Theresa May: Her bid for an early election was backed by MPs
Getty Images

Former Tory justice minister Dominic Raab also welcomed the plan, saying it is a “sensible move, which is consistent with the pledges the PM has made”.

He added: “It's important to make sure we get the strongest possible mandate to deliver the best deal with our European friends.

“It will also give us a clarity of position which should be respected across both houses of parliament.”

Insiders also revealed Mrs May could also be ready to ditch promises made in David Cameron's 2015 general election manifesto, such as the commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid.

As the PM hinted she may be ready to drop the pledge, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates urged her to stick to the target, which was put into law with the backing of the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition in 2015.

Downing Street refused to comment on the manifesto before it is published.

Commons: MPs voted for the election on Wednesday
PA

On Thursday, Mrs May will hold talks with Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, which will have to approve any final UK-EU Brexit deal.

And she received a boost on Wednesday when US House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan saying America stands ready to strike a free trade deal with the UK as soon as possible.

Rallying call: Jeremy Corbyn in Croydon
PA

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn is resisting Mrs May's efforts to make Britain's exit from the EU the defining issue of the election, insisting the poll instead gives voters a chance to pass judgement on the Conservatives' record on austerity and public spending cuts.

But Mr Corbyn is apparently facing an uphill struggle, with a fresh YouGov opinion poll for the Times giving the Tories a 24-point lead over Labour, despite his denial that his party's defeat is a "foregone conclusion".

In his first keynote speech of the campaign, Mr Corbyn will insist Labour can "change the direction of this election" by "putting the interests of the majority first".

The Labour leader will say "powerful people" do not want him to win and will vow to "prove the Establishment experts wrong and change the direction of this election".

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