MOSCOW, Sept 8: UK Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd resigned on Saturday after several Conservative Party members got expelled for their views on Brexit.
Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expelled 21 senior members of the Conservative Party after they supported opposition parties in the vote to delay Brexit on Tuesday.
“I have resigned from Cabinet and surrendered the Conservative Whip. I cannot stand by as good, loyal moderate Conservatives are expelled. I have spoken to the PM and my Association Chairman to explain. I remain committed to the One Nation values that drew me into politics,” Rudd said on Twitter.
Rudd has been one the most influential figures in the Conservative Party. She was a close ally of ex-Prime Minister Theresa May and was appointed for the position of Home Secretary in her government.
“This short sighted culling of my collegues has stripped the Party of broad-minded and dedicated Conservative MPs. I cannot support this act of political vandalism,” Rudd said in a letter to Johnson.
The politician noted that she entered the government believing that a no-deal Brexit cannot be excluded as an option, since she believed that it could be used for reaching an agreement with Brussels.
“However I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government’s main objective,” Rudd said.
The ex-minister pointed out that the government showed much less effort in negotiating deal with Brussels compared to the preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
At the moment, the situation around Brexit is at an impasse. The country’s parliament is opposed to the agreement with the European Union in its current form, but it is also categorically opposed to a no-deal Brexit. Brussels refuses to resume negotiations and revise the agreement, while Johnson insists that Brexit will happen on October 31 with or without a deal.
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