Brexit: Johnson pull-out could shape UK approach to exit negotiations

Boris Johnson's dramatic exit from the Conservative leadership contest and the last-minute entry of Michael Gove have not only reshaped that race but could determine Britain's approach to post-Brexit negotiations with the EU.

Gove and home secretary Theresa May are now the frontrunners to emerge as the two candidates to go before the party membership after a series of knock-out ballots by MPs.

Although May backed Remain in the referendum and Gove backed Leave, both made clear yesterday they would take a hardline approach in negotiations with the EU.

May made clear at her campaign launch that she regards controlling the free movement of people from the EU as a red line in post-Brexit negotiations even if that means Britain cannot be part of the single market.

Immigration

Gove has presented himself as the guardian of Vote Leave’s campaign promises, notably on immigration, the most important issue for many voters who backed Brexit.

"I will do everything that is required in order to bring immigration down to a level that is manageable, that the public believe is right. Now, in order to be able to reduce migration we need to be outside the European Union. I'll negotiate with toughness, and with great attention to detail to get the best possible deal for Britain. It's only when we are outside the European Union that we can at last bring those numbers under control in the way the public want," he told the BBC.

The three other candidates for leader – work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb, energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former defence secretary Liam Fox – have been equally robust in their commitment to end the free movement of people from the EU.

Johnson had hinted at a more flexible approach, stressing the importance of maintaining access to the European single market, an approach David Cameron has also endorsed in the aftermath of the referendum.

The extraordinary intrigue surrounding Gove's abandonment of Johnson has ensured that the Conservative leadership contest will be shot through with bitterness and a hunger for vengeance. Gove, who has repeatedly ruled himself out for the leadership in recent years, has betrayed two political friends in recent months – first Cameron, by backing Brexit, and now Johnson.

Steady hand

May presented herself yesterday as a steady hand for turbulent times, but her support for Remain will disqualify her in the eyes of some MPs who believe that Britain’s journey out of the EU must be led by someone who has made the case for Brexit.

As Johnson considered the wreckage of his ambitions last night, he received no sympathy from former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine, who said his actions evoked a sense of dismay and contempt.

“He’s ripped the party apart. He’s created the greatest constitutional crisis of modern times. He’s knocked billions off the value of the nation’s savings. He’s like a general that led his army to the sound of guns and at the sight of the battlefield, abandoned the field – to the claims of his adjutant who said he wasn’t up to the job in the first place,” Heseltine told the BBC. “I’ve never seen so contemptible and irresponsible a situation. It’s a free society. There’s no question of punishment. He must live with the shame of what he’s done.”