It felt like a bolt from the blue but the work and pensions secretary’s departure was the culmination of years of personal and policy feudingWhen Iain Duncan Smith talked approximately his resignation with David Cameron on Friday night,a long telephone conversation ensued. The Tory leader had been half-prepared for this. People at Number 10 had been muttering for some time that one of the most prominent Brexiters was looking for a reason to resign. In the course of their conversation, the prime minister, and anticipating how much mayhem it would unleash in an already febrile Tory party,sought to persuade the other man to hold off until they had a chance to talk face to face. It demonstrates the complete collapse of trust between them that the work and pensions secretary regarded the prime minister’s suggestion not as a honest offer to try to find a compromise but as a malicious trap. Related: Iain Duncan Smith resigns from cabinet over disability cuts Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com