Dominic Raab has just given an impressive, grown-up speech to Tory conference that will see his stock rise still further.
The Brexit Secretary began his speech by appealing for tolerance, pointing out that there were good arguments—and good people—on both sides of the referendum campaign. He even acknowledged that some Brexiteers had been too quick to dismiss Remain’s warnings about how difficult leaving would be. It was a reminder of how much easier it is for someone who isn’t trying to prove their Brexit credentials to adopt the emollient tone that’s needed if the country is to be brought back together.
Raab walked a tightrope on Chequers, defending the principles of the deal but not ruling out a different approach. He said that ‘we will listen to alternative ways of delivering on the strategic criteria we have set out.’
But the most powerful part of the speech was when Raab talked about how his father had fled the Nazis and come to Britain in 1938:
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