Theresa May fights for her political life as Conservative conference opens

As the Tory party conference kicked off in Manchester, Theresa May was forced to deny reports of a Cabinet rift following another Brexit intervention by Boris Johnson.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Sun on Saturday, the Foreign Secretary said that any transition period must not last “a second longer” than two years.

Setting out his four Brexit “red lines”, Johnson also said Britain should not accept new EU or European Court of Justice rulings during a transition; must not make payments for single market access when the transition ends; and should not agree to shadow EU regulations to gain access.

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The timing of the interview, on the eve of conference, has “put [May’s] authority in doubt” says The Sunday Times, and “ensured it is the question of who is in charge of the exit negotiations that dominates the start of the Manchester gathering”.

Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, the Prime Minister was accused of refusing to answer “straightforward” questions on the Brexit negotiations or say whether the UK would accept new EU rules during a transition period. While accepting responsibility for the disastrous decision to call a snap general election, May denied claims by Marr that her habit of ducking difficult questions was partly responsible for the party losing its majority.

However, it is her failure to say whether Johnson was “unsackable”, despite his latest high-profile intervention, that has once again put her political future in question. Some commentators say her authority is now so diminished that it is only a matter of time before she is replaced.

Johnson’s manoeuvrings are “causing alarm among anti-Brexit Tories, who are now calling for him to be sacked”, says Politico. In an article for The Independent, Nicky Morgan says the Foreign Secretary “has no place in responsible government”. Die-hard Tory remainer Anna Soubry said Johnson must “grow up or go”.

Tuition fee freeze

In a bid “to shore up her flagging premiership”, The Guardian says, an “increasingly desperate Theresa May” will propose a raft of new policies aimed at young voters. These include plans to freeze university tuition fees at £9,250; increasing the earnings threshold at which graduates start to pay off their loans; and spending £10bn helping first-time buyers.

However, Brexit is expected to dominate the conference.

Senior pro-Brexit Tory MPs and business figures in the Leave Means Leave group have written a letter to the PM in which they say: “If the EU is not seriously negotiating a free trade deal by Christmas 2017, the Government should give formal notice that we will move to World Trade Organisation rules in March 2019.”

Signatories calling for the hard-line stance include former Brexit minister David Jones, “and the issue is set to feature heavily at the Tory conference”, says The Independent.

Speaking to Marr, May said she was hopeful a deal could be agreed that would be good for both the EU and UK, but dodged a question about whether she would resign if Britain crashed out of the EU without an agreement in place.

Meanwhile, in an interview with The Observer, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid declined to reply when asked if May should lead the Tories into the next election campaign. It adds to the growing sense “that Cabinet discipline is breaking down and support for the Prime Minister is draining away”, says The Guardian.