Tory MPs scramble to fight off ‘putsch’ from hard Brexit supporters Campaign backed by Arron Banks to ‘infiltrate’ the Conservative Party

Conservative MPs are scrambling to fight off an attempted “putsch” by former Ukip members after the pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU urged them to join the party to force a “hard” Brexit.

Tory MPs are warning of a “blue Momentum” taking over the party in an attempt to secure staunch Eurosceptics Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg as a future leader.

Recent changes to the party rules mean that anyone who has been a member of the Conservatives for more than three months has a vote in a leadership contest.

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True Brexiteer

Rank and file members, who are predominantly pro-Brexit, will decide the party’s leader from a choice of two candidates.

Leave.EU, which is bankrolled by arch-Brexiteer Arron Banks, is calling on former Ukip members and other pro-Brexit supporters to join 10,000 others who are “flooding the Tory party, ready to elect a true Brexiteer”.

It comes just a week after Mr Banks proposed a digital advertising campaign to encourage backers of his Brexiteer movement to join Tory ranks and back Mr Johnson in a future leadership election.

Fed up of how this weak "conservative" government has handled Brexit? A leadership contest is inevitable. Join the huge number of our members already flooding the Tory party, ready to elect a true Brexiteer. Help put the spine back into the Tory party: https://t.co/Vgc33bXJWn pic.twitter.com/GUy1UWix07 — Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) August 15, 2018

The move is in response to Theresa May’s Chequers Brexit plan, which led to the resignation of both David Davis and Mr Johnson from the Cabinet.

Blue Momentum

Mrs May’s blueprint has since led to Nigel Farage to announce this weekend that he is re-entering frontline politics, leading to calls for him to join the Conservatives.

Europhile Tory MP Anna Soubry branded the move as a “blatant infiltration of the Conservatives by another political party to overthrow the PM and elect a Uhip-backed leader to force a no deal Brexit people did not vote for”.

Ms Soubry called on Tory Party chair Brandon Lewis to “introduce measures to prevent a Blue Momentum take over of the Conservative Party”.

Blatant infiltration of @Conservatives by another political party to overthrow the PM & elect a #UKIP backed leader & force a no deal #HardBrexit ppl did not vote for. @BrandonLewis must introduce measures to prevent a Blue Momentum take over of the Conservative Party https://t.co/RojJkt2e1b — Anna Soubry (@Anna_Soubry) August 19, 2018

Tory Phillip Lee, a former minister who resigned to campaign for a softer Brexit, called on Conservative voters to join the party to “stop this putsch”.

“Time to wake up and act against a hard right Momentum,” he said on Twitter.

Infiltration

Scottish Tory backbencher, Paul Masterton added: “Farage and Co are not Conservatives. They are certainly not Unionists. Mainstream Tory supporters must ensure they are members and ready to defeat this infiltration.”

Many Conservative MPs expect a leadership contest within the next 12 months.

Brexit talks with Brussels in the autumn and later this year could prove decisive for the Prime Minister should the negotiations end in deadlock or compromises appear unacceptable to Brexiteers.

Last week, the i revealed that Sajid Javid is broadening his base within the Tory party as he prepares for a leadership battle, with allies close to the Home Secretary stating he was certain to run to replace Mrs May.