Ken Clarke: Anti-Brexit Hero

Jan 31, 2024 | From 31 January to 1 February 2017, MPs debated the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill on whether to trigger Brexit - the Article 50 notice.

Boris Johnson Told to 'Stop Campaigning and Start Governing'

THE GUARDIAN: Ken Clarke criticises PM for having no detailed plans for Brexit or social care

Ken Clarke has warned Boris Johnson he must “stop campaigning and get on with governing”, condemning the prime minister for seemingly having no detailed plans for a final Brexit deal, or for other vital issues such as social care.

The veteran former Conservative MP, who stepped down from parliament at the election having been stripped of the Tory whip shortly beforehand, said Johnson should replace advisers such as Dominic Cummings with people who were able to govern.

Clarke said that while Johnson’s 80-strong majority meant he was able to run the country more or less as he chose, Clarke told BBC Radio 5 he had seen few signs yet of any coherent policy programme.

“Governing the country is more than going around saying, ‘Oooh, 2020 is going to be a golden year, and we’re going to be global Britain,’” he said. “At the moment we’ve got a stagnant, fragile economy, an angry, discontented population. It’s a very dangerous world out there in many, many ways.”

Clarke said Johnson’s policy vagueness was particularly acute on Brexit: “I could never get out of Boris – and nobody so far could get out of Boris – what he has in mind for the eventual deal. To say they’re generalities is an understatement. » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Sunday, December 22, 2019

Ken Clarke Calls Boris Johnson 'Disingenuous'

'I do think the Prime Minister has a tremendous skill in keeping a straight face whilst he's being so disingenuous' - Ken Clarke reacts to the government's defeat. Boris Johnson has been defeated again as MPs pass bill blocking no-deal.

BBC Hardtalk: MP Ken Clarke

HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to former Conservative minister and longest serving MP Ken Clarke. It is hard to remember a time when Britain wasn't consumed by Brexit agony. And still it's impossible to say how and when the pain will stop. MPs are currently trying to find a Brexit consensus in defiance of the wishes of prime minister May. Her own deal remains short of a parliamentary majority, though she clings to the hope it will eventually prevail before time runs out. How close to breaking point is Britain's political system?

Ken Clarke MP on Brexit Chaos, Being a Tory Rebel and Answering Critics

Ken Clarke has been a Member of Parliament for almost five decades. As the longest serving MP, he talks to Krishnan about why Brexit is in such chaos, his long-standing Conservative views and why he thinks it’s important politicians talk honestly to the media.

Angry, Uninformed Brexit Loonies Rage about Nick Clegg's Brussels Trip

Ken Clarke: Tories Are ‘Eurosceptic and Mildly Anti-immigrant

Tory MP Ken Clarke says on Tuesday he will vote the against the bill allowing the government to trigger article 50, which would begin two years of Brexit negotiations. Speaking in the House of Commons on the first day of the debate, the former chancellor says the referendum result has not made him a Brexiter

Read the Guardian article here

Ken Clarke: Brexit Doesn't Mean We're in Charge of Our Economic Future

The Andrew Marr Show 9 October 2016

Ken Clarke: Theresa May Is a 'Bloody Difficult Woman'

Leaving the EU Would Be an Economic 'Disaster', Ken Clarke Has Said
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain must stop having a "nervous breakdown" over Europe as it would be a economic "disaster" to leave the EU, Ken Clarke has said.

The Cabinet minister said any suggestion the UK could leave the EU is "damaging our influence" in the world.

Speaking on the BBC's Today Programme, he said he does not "remotely believe" the Prime Minister is planning to take Britain out of the EU, despite eurosceptic pressure from backbench MPs.

"We are going through a very curious stage in the national debate," he said. "In the last 20 years the country gets near to having a nervous breakdown on the subject every now and again. David Cameron assures the public, he’s always assured me, that he believes, as I do, that Britain’s place in the modern world has got to be in the EU.

"It would be a disaster for our influence in global political events. It would be a disaster for the British economy, if we were to leave the EU. It damages our influence in these great critical events of the moment if we keep casting doubt on our continued membership." » | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Monday, November 19, 2012

Ken Clarke: Only Extreme Nationalists Want 'Silly' European Referendum
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A referendum on Britain’s relationship with the European Union would be “silly” and is only of interest to “a few extreme nationalist politicians,” Kenneth Clarke has said.


The Justice Secretary launched a sustained attack on advocates of a popular vote on Europe, which he described as “a total irrelevance” that would create turmoil and undermine Britain’s economic credibility.

In a BBC Radio Four interview, he dismissed those seeking a referendum as “frenzied eurosceptics”.

Mr Clarke, a longstanding supporter of the EU, made the comments amid growing pressure from Conservative MPs for the Government to take a harder line on European issues.

Some Conservative MPs are arguing that a Greek exit from the euro should trigger a vote on Britain’s relationship with the EU. Some ministers are urging David Cameron to take a more eurosceptic line to address a recent fall in the Government’s popularity.

Mr Clarke dismissed those suggestions as irresponsible. Read on and comment » | James Kirkup, and Richard Alleyne | Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Nick Clegg: Public Fury at Euro Crisis Will Fuel Extremism
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A wave of “extremism and xenophobia” will sweep across Europe unless political leaders take urgent action to deal with the debt crisis, Nick Clegg has warned.

The Deputy Prime Minister predicted that arguments in Britain about whether to pull out of the European Union would be “like a small side show compared to the rise of political extremism” in the next few years.

In his bleakest assessment to date, Mr Clegg admitted that his beloved European project faces a “huge” crisis of confidence as the public loses faith in the EU “as a whole”.

Mr Clegg’s intervention followed warnings from Cabinet ministers that the eurozone debt crisis is approaching a “moment of clarity” when it is “quite likely” that Greece will be forced out of the single currency.

In an interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, the Liberal Democrat leader said EU nations are “condemned to work with each other” but warned that nine European governments have “fallen” since 2009.

“Everybody should be more active,” he said. “At the moment, what’s happening is you have one emergency summit after another; you have one election after the other; you have one bail out after the other.

“This cannot carry on because the combination of economic insecurity and political paralysis, we know this from the history of our continent, is the ideal recipe for an increase in extremism and xenophobia. » | Tim Ross, and James Kirkup | Monday, May 21, 2012

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ken Clarke attacks 'nationalist' eurosceptic Tories: MPs who want a referendum on membership of the European Union are “right-wing nationalists” who would bring "disaster" to Britain, Kenneth Clarke has said. ¶ The Justice Secretary, who is regarded as the most "europhile" Conservative Cabinet minister, said calls to consider withdrawing from the EU were "a dangerous irrelevance" to the economic crisis. » | Tim Ross, Political Correspondent | Sunday, May 20, 2012

You Can Pick Up a Knife and Stab a Burglar, Says Ken Clarke
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Householders who stab burglars will not face criminal charges, Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, said yesterday.

He announced that an act of Parliament would be used to "clarify" the existing legal right to use "reasonable force" against intruders.

His remarks come after a householder was arrested on suspicion of murder following the stabbing of a burglar at a house in Salford, Greater Manchester, last week.

David Cameron has promised that the new Justice Bill would "put beyond doubt that home owners and small shopkeepers who use reasonable force to defend themselves or their properties will not be prosecuted".

Yesterday, Mr Clarke spelt out the sort of action that would be permitted under the new regime. He made clear that it would remain illegal to pursue intruders to attack them or to shoot them as they fled.

The Justice Secretary said: "If an old lady finds she has got an 18 year-old burgling her house and she picks up a kitchen knife and sticks it in him, she has not committed a criminal offence and we will make that clear." » | Thursday, June 30, 2011

UK Government to Press for European Court Reform
BBC: The government is to press for the European Court of Human Rights to be reformed, says the justice secretary.


Ken Clarke said the government would press for changes to the way the court operated when the UK takes over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, he said the European Convention of Human Rights would continue to be adhered to.

Last week it was announced that a commission would be set up to examine a possible British Bill of Rights.

The commission, which will be jointly chaired by Mr Clarke and Deputy Leader Nick Clegg, will look at whether the UK Bill of Rights could overrule the European Convention of Human Rights.

"The government's policy is to investigate a case for a British Bill of Rights and whether that could improve the relationship between Strasbourg and here," said Mr Clarke. >>> | Sunday, February 20, 2011

Ken, You’re Losing It!
Ken Clarke, a known Europhile, was recently brought back into the Conservative fold. He has spoken out against the married couple's allowance. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron's decision to bring back Ken Clarke was called into question after it emerged the new shadow business secretary had condemned a key plank of his Tory social policy.

Mr Clarke apparently dismissed the idea of encouraging marriage through the tax system as "social engineering", and warned that the Tory leader was taking on the attitudes of the American "religious right".

The explosive comments – reported to have been made at a seminar in Nottingham last month, before he joined the shadow cabinet – will heighten speculation of major differences between the former chancellor and his new boss.

Mr Clarke was brought back by Mr Cameron earlier this month to bolster his economic team during the global financial crisis.

The well-known Europhile pledged he would not seek to change the party's sceptical position on the EU.

But last week remarks emerged from the same event at Nottingham University in which he warned that Mr Cameron risked looking like a "right-wing nationalist" because of his stance on Europe.

And, according to website www.publicservice.co.uk, he also criticised social issues.

Speaking about his time as Chancellor he told the conference, "I got rid of the married couples allowance.

"I really don't think it's anything to do with politicians whether you (get married) and most of the younger people I know don't seem very keen on it.

"My view of Conservatism is that it's not for us to tell you (what to do through) the tax system – my wife didn't put up with me because I was getting £150 by way of tax allowance.

"This is social engineering, for God's sake, and when I joined the party we weren't in favour of it." Ken Clarke 'Dismissed' David Cameron's Marriage Policy >>> | Tuesday, January 27, 2009

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