The infighting in the Tory party has moved from argument with raised voices to a bit of pushing and shoving and nerves are starting to fray at Brexit HQ. The Telegraph has several articles this weekend either attacking the prime minister as a middle manager (HERE) or chancellor Hammond for being utterly unsuited to his job (HERE), and all suggesting that the leave side is somehow being cheated out of the hardest possible Brexit.
The cabinet secretary comes under fire (HERE) while Theresa Villiers says Brexit is being diluted a little more with every passing day (HERE).
And as if to reinforce the sense of chaos and drift on this side of the Channel the paper reports (HERE) that the EU are adding staff to a department planning for a no deal exit because of fear Theresa May will be unable to deliver an agreement.
The Guardian (HERE) claims the PM has been told to raise her game within the next three months or face a revolt as if this wasn't going to happen at some point anyway. It is as certain as night following day.
Her defence secretary is under pressure (HERE) for supposedly leaking intelligence as a spoiler to a story about an extra marital issue while he was MD of a fireplace company in Scarborough. I don't know which is more embarrassing, the alleged infidelity or the fact our defence minister was a fireplace salesman in 2004.
Mrs May's effective No 2 has urged Conservative MPs to come together (HERE) which is akin to begging, Canute like, for the tide to turn. Her future looks like being decided at the local elections in May. This forecast by Sir John Curtice (HERE) seems to confirm what many Conservative fear, that the party will lose a huge number of seats in London which could trigger a leadership contest. If so it would be ironic that she loses her position because of the anti Brexit vote in London while being pressurised to become even more Eurosceptic by pro Brexit supporters in her own party. What do they expect?
The party I am now ashamed to admit I supported for many years is in a mess. It has been captured by its own right wing and is pursuing a policy in Brexit that will lead to its annihilation. Redwood, Duncan-Smith, Lilley, Howard, Lawson, Cash, Jenkins and others will go down in history with the responsibility for destroying their own party. And I applaud them for it.
On Sunday the PM was being urged to sack her chancellor (HERE) and she herself criticised for her "tortoise" leadership. James Forsyth in The Spectator describes her as being a "visionless mediocrity" but thinks replacing her is impossible (HERE). And finally on the politics.co.uk website a great article (HERE) saying that reality is tearing the Tories apart and the first shots are being fired in an all out war. How true.
This morning Claire Perry the Energy minister and MP for Devizes is in trouble with the Brexiteers. In the latest salvo she says the MPs who accused the government of a "sell out" over the £39 billion Brexit bill are "swivel eyed old men" which is of course absolutely true but she is coming under attack for her comments (HERE).
Conservative prime ministers since Macmillan have had problems with Europe. It damaged Thatcher and destroyed Major and Cameron. It is now chewing up Theresa May and the entire party will be consumed by it. The party must split and each side should argue their own case. I am confident if this happened the EU hating rump would die sooner or later and we would all be far better off.
