Dominic Raab. Secretary of State for exiting the EU
Son of a Czech-born Jewish father who came to Britain in 1938 aged six, as a refugee from the Nazis. Education: Grammar school then Oxford and Cambridge.
Best Conference Quotes
“We express our differences at the ballot box, but afterwards we come together, and respect the result”.
“If the EU want a deal, they need to get serious. And they need to do it now”.
“If we can’t obtain a deal that secures that objective…If an attempt is made to lock us in via the back door of the EEA or Customs Union…If the only offer from the EU threatens the integrity of our Union, then we will be left with no choice but to leave with no deal”.
“Some people say that No Deal is unthinkable. Wrong. What is unthinkable is that this government or any British government could be bullied by the threat of some kind of economic embargo, into signing a one-sided deal against our country’s interests. When it comes to no deal, we’ve heard some lurid predictions from the prophets of doom. They claim planes will be grounded. That ports will be blocked. Let’s have some common sense here. Why on earth would any of these things happen? Unless someone decided to make them happen. Even if we can’t secure a comprehensive deal with the EU, I find it hard to believe that they would, for narrow political ends, seek to punish Britain in such a crass and counterproductive way. Threatening European as well as UK businesses and jobs”.
“Two years ago we held a referendum in which more people voted than at any time, before or since. Like any national vote, there were claims and counter-claims, and plenty of controversy. It was ever thus. Democracy is rough-edged, not clean-cut. But one thing was crystal clear, and we all know it in our hearts. It was even written in that official government leaflet sent to every household. Let me read it to you:
“This is your decision. The government will implement what you decide.”
“But I’ll tell you what’s not democracy. The efforts of a small, but influential group of senior politicians and establishment figures to overturn the result of the referendum. They want to stop us leaving. You can just picture them, sitting in an expensive advertising agency, discussing how to claim that black is white: “Our research shows that the public doesn’t like the idea of a second referendum.”
“That’s all right – we’ll rebrand it a People’s Vote. They might buy that.”
“And under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour party has now opened the door to reversing Brexit. A clear breach of their manifesto promise. A deliberate tactic to weaken the UK’s negotiating position for their own political gain. Just imagine, for a moment, if they succeeded. Trust in our democracy would all but vanish. Most people, whether they voted Remain or Leave, would see it for what it is. A shameless ruse by an establishment that thinks that it has the right to keep asking the same question until it gets the answer it wants”.