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The ex-Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, expressed his concerns over the future of his party when taking part in a discussion on the Brexit negotiations with host Evan Davis.
Theresa May and her cabinet took part in an away day yesterday to try and overcome their differences on what the UK outside of the EU should look like after frustrated MPs began publicly expressing their own personal views on the matter in the media.
Questioning the Tory divisions on Brexit, Evan Davis asked the Beaconsfield MP whether his party could survive in the face of disunity.
Mr Grieves replied unconvincingly: “I very much hope so but I do recognise that there are deep divisions, there’s no point trying to pretend they don’t exist.”
Earlier this week Anna Soubry threatened to quit the Tories, citing concerns with the way the EU divorce process was being carried out.
He added: “Clearly there can come a point in a party’s process where the ties of loyalty and affection get so stretched that it snaps and that’s when a party starts to fall apart.”
MPs within the country’s ruling party have begun to lose their patience over the issue of Brexit and have increasingly begun to break party lines by giving their own personal opinions on what they want to see achieved from the negotiations with the EU.
The public outbreaks have created an impression of a divided cabinet and caused concern over Theresa May’s ability to lead.
In a speech to the World Economic Forum last month, Philip Hammond said: “We are taking two completely interconnected and aligned economies with high levels of trade and selectively moving them, hopefully very modestly apart.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is believed to have expressed frustration with plans for a "soft Brexit" telling friends in private he is concerned the “establishment” will stop the UK enjoying the benefits of freedom from the restrictive trade bloc.
Continuing to explain why he worries about the future of his party Mr Grieve went on to explain leaving the EU was an unprecedented step that was taking its toll on the Conservatives.
He said: “Of course the difficulty is we are a party which historically has been very pragmatic in its approach to problems.
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“We have just introduced, by the revolutionary means of a referendum, a deep ideological division.
“For a pragmatic party to get over that and absorb the ideological division and then come together to deliver a pragmatic Government is clearly an immense challenge.”
The Prime Minister and her cabinet are set to meet today for a second meeting aimed at coming to a unified position on leaving the EU.
