With less than 36 hours until the polls open for the EU Referendum, most political observers admit the outcome of the vote is too close to call.
Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph’s daily poll of polls has the Remain vote at 48% and Leave at 52%, despite a recent surge of support for Remain. The UK’s leading polling analyst Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University said:
the Prime Minister must now be feeling discomfort at the thought that the outcome really could be in doubt.
Most pundits agree that if the Brexiteers do win the day it will lead to the swift resignations of David Cameron and George Osborne.
The likely successor as Conservative Prime Minister will be Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP Boris Johnson.
Already national broadsheet newspapers have predicted the likely members of Johnson’s post-referendum Brexit cabinet – a cabinet more right wing than any, since the days of Margaret Thatcher.
According to the voting record of Johnson’s likely top table of Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith, Andrea Leadsom, Liam Fox, Theresa May, Graham Brady and Theresa Villiers it would head a Government which is in favour of:
- new nuclear weapons
- academy schools
- fox hunting
- the Bedroom Tax
- cutting welfare benefits
- university tuition fees
- privatising the NHS
- curtailing immigration
- more restrictive regulation of trade unions
- ignoring measures to prevent climate change
If you are still unsure, according to the Hansard voting records on the website They Work For You, this is exactly how these likely post Brexit cabinet members have voted in the House of Commons on some key issues:
Boris Johnson – Prime Minister
Consistently voted:
- against the hunting ban
- for replacing Trident with new nuclear weapons
- against paying higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability
- for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
- against higher taxes on banks
- for academy schools
- against measures to prevent climate change
Generally voted:
- for more restrictive regulation of trade unions
- for a stricter asylum system
- for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
Michael Gove – Deputy Prime Minister
Consistently voted:
- for replacing Trident with new nuclear weapons
- against paying higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability
- against a tax on the value of expensive homes (mansion tax)
- for academy schools
- for university tuition fees
- for a stricter asylum system
- for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
Almost always voted: for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
Generally voted:
- for reducing housing benefit for tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (bedroom tax)
- for reforming the NHS
- against measures to prevent climate change
Andrea Leadsom – Chancellor
Consistently voted:
- for replacing Trident with new nuclear weapons
- against a tax on the value of expensive homes (mansion tax)
- for reforming the NHS
- for university tuition fees
- for a stricter asylum system
- for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
Almost always voted:
- for reducing housing benefit for tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (bedroom tax)
- for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
- for academy schools
Generally voted:
- against paying higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability
- against measures to prevent climate change
Liam Fox – Home Secretary
Consistently voted:
- for replacing Trident with new nuclear weapons
- for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
Almost always voted:
- against the hunting ban
- for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
- against a tax on the value of expensive homes (mansion tax)
- for reforming the NHS
Generally voted:
- for reducing housing benefit for tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (bedroom tax)
- for academy schools
- for a stricter asylum system
- against measures to prevent climate change
Theresa May – Foreign Secretary
Consistently voted : for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
Almost always voted:
- against the hunting ban
- replacing Trident with new nuclear weapons
- for academy schools
- for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
- against a tax on the value of expensive homes (mansion tax)
Generally voted for:
- reducing housing benefit for tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (bedroom tax)
- against paying higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability
- for more restrictive regulation of trade unions
- for reforming the NHS
- for a stricter asylum system
- against measures to prevent climate change
Iain Duncan Smith – Work and Pensions Secretary
Consistently voted:
- against the hunting ban
- for replacing Trident with new nuclear weapons
- against paying higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability
- against a tax on the value of expensive homes (mansion tax)
- for more restrictive regulation of trade unions
- for reforming the NHS
- for academy schools
- for stronger enforcement of immigration rules
Almost always voted: for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
Generally voted:
- for a stricter asylum system
- for reducing housing benefit for tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (bedroom tax)
- against measures to prevent climate change
In addition to the above voting records, each of the MPs have also voted in favour of military interventions in other countries, fracking for shale gas, the privatisation of the Royal Mail and for the rights of the police and secret services to have complete access to anyone’s electronic communications.
Now you know what might be in store if we Brexit.
Featured Image via Flickr
