David Davis concedes Tory manifesto pledges will be ‘pruned away’ after election disaster
2 min read
Key parts of the Conservative election manifesto will be ditched after the party lost its Commons majority in the election, David Davis has admitted.
The Brexit Secretary said sections of the document will have to be "pruned away" because the Prime Minister is no longer sure of being able to get it through parliament.
That means controversial measures like the so-called "dementia tax" - in which pensioners would have to use the value of their home to pay for their social care - and the means testing of the winter fuel allowance, are likely to be ditched.
"We’re being given an instruction by the British people and that may mean that some elements of the manifesto will be pruned away, shall we say,” Mr Davis told Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I’m not going to prune it on air. Look, the public gave a decision, we have to respect that decision, we’re democrats”.
Meanwhile, Mr Davis also acknowledged his role in persuading Theresa May to call an early election.
“I take my responsibilities I make no bones about it, I argued for it,” he said.
“It’s not the outcome I would have liked obviously and that is certainly the case, there’s no walking away from it, were now back in government, we need to get on with the job.
“The simple truth is we’ve now got in effect an arrangement with the DUP to make the government, that’s what we’re going to do, and I’m then going to go back to delivering Brexit.”
He added that speculation on whether Mrs May should remain as Prime Minister, including among his own colleagues, amounted to the “height of self-indulgence”.
“It’s now for us to go back and do the job, not to bicker amongst ourselves about whose fault it was or whatever but to get on with the job and the job is an incredibly important one – it’s the biggest decision we’ve had to take in decades.”
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