Boris wants Amber Rudd as his chancellor if she backs his bid to be prime minister

Boris Johnson is ready to make Amber Rudd Britain’s first female Chancellor if she backs his leadership bid, sources said last night.

The former foreign secretary is ‘wooing’ Miss Rudd in a bid to broaden his appeal beyond the party’s Eurosceptic wing.

But Miss Rudd, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has told friends she cannot support Mr Johnson while he keeps the door open to a No Deal Brexit.

The pair have clashed repeatedly over Brexit, with Miss Rudd instrumental in persuading the Prime Minister to rule out a No Deal departure.

At the height of the 2016 referendum campaign, Miss Rudd questioned his character, telling a televised debate: ‘He’s the life and soul of the party. But he’s not the man you want to drive you home at the end of the evening.’

Boris Johnson is ready to make Amber Rudd Britain’s first female Chancellor if she backs his leadership bid but she has told friends she won’t accept while he continues to support a No Deal Brexit

However, friends say the pair ‘get on well’ and, Brexit apart, share a similar ‘One Nation Tory’ outlook.

‘If you put Brexit to one side they share the same approach on a lot of issues,’ one said. ‘But Brexit is a big barrier.’

The pair have held two recent dinners to discuss a so-called ‘Bamber’ alliance when Theresa May steps aside.

One Tory source said Mr Johnson had told friends he is ready to offer Miss Rudd the Chancellor’s job if she backs him. ‘He is desperate to get Amber on board,’ the source said.

‘It would show that he can reach out and unite the party. He will offer her the top job – the Treasury – if she agrees.’

An ally of Mr Johnson last night insisted he was not making any job offers to potential supporters, but confirmed he is in discussion with Miss Rudd about a possible pact.

The pair ‘get on well’ and, Brexit apart, share a similar ‘One Nation Tory’ outlook. They have been discussing a so-called ‘Bamber’ alliance when Theresa May steps aside

Hardliners urged to ‘wake up’ as Tory divisions deepen

By Jason Groves Political Editor

Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday urged Brexiteers to ‘wake up from their No Deal dreams’ as cracks on the Tories’ Eurosceptic wing deepened.

A number of senior Eurosceptics, led by former Cabinet ministers Iain Duncan Smith and Owen Paterson, yesterday urged Theresa May to abandon the European elections and take Britain out of the EU at the end of next month.

But Mr Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group, instead backed Eurosceptic commentator Iain Martin’s view that the prospects of a No Deal Brexit were all-but gone.

In an article for The Times headlined ‘Diehards must wake from No Deal dreams’, Mr Martin said that, after two Brexit delays, it was clear Parliament would never accept No Deal. He urged Brexiteers to back Mrs May’s deal, saying: ‘If Leavers want to win, if they still want to leave the EU, it involves accepting that No Deal at any costs is nothing like a majority position across Britain.’

Fellow Brexiteer Daniel Kawczynski, who quit the ERG this month, suggested its verbal assaults on Mrs May were motivated in part by sexism, adding: ‘I think there’s some misogynism there.’

And he warned that those still refusing to back the deal were in danger of destroying the Tory party, saying: ‘If this national humiliation goes on and we don’t get this deal across the line, we will be punished, and we will lose credibility for a generation.’

But ERG deputy chairman Steve Baker said he would never back down and vote for the deal. He added: ‘Doing the wrong thing because you fear worse from others is not a reason. Surrendering to pressure… I’m just not doing it.’

Mr Paterson highlighted a clause in this week’s deal to delay Brexit until October 31, in which the UK would be forced to leave with No Deal on June 1 if it failed to hold European elections. ‘It is [a] win-win,’ he claimed.

‘He’s not offering anyone anything,’ the source said.

‘He did a bit of that last time and it didn’t end well. But have they been talking? Yes, they have.’

Miss Rudd, who deputised for Mrs May in the televised election debates in 2017, has all but abandoned her own leadership ambitions because of Eurosceptic hostility to her stance on Brexit.

But she is widely seen as a potential ‘kingmaker’, whose support could prove pivotal in the coming leadership contest. Jeremy Hunt is said to have offered her the post of Foreign Secretary in return for her backing.

Mr Johnson’s offer could see her become Britain’s first female Chancellor. Miss Rudd recently helped found the 50-strong One Nation Group of moderate Tories, which will hold its own hustings during the leadership contest.

A source at the group said: ‘Any candidate looking for their support will need to be clearly against a No Deal Brexit.’ Mr Johnson has repeatedly spoken out in favour of a ‘managed No Deal’ to take Britain out of the EU.

This week he urged Mrs May to renegotiate her deal with Brussels, but added: ‘It would still be far better to get out with a standstill arrangement – a managed No Deal – that would give us time to negotiate a free trade agreement and solve issues raised in Northern Ireland.’

Mr Johnson has received the backing of a number of high-profile Eurosceptics, including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Iain Duncan Smith. But his decision to vote for Mrs May’s deal at the third attempt last month has alienated some hardliners.

One ally said the prospects of an alliance might depend on the state of the Brexit process when the leadership contest is eventually fought.

‘The PM is showing every sign that she intends to hang on until she has got a deal of some kind through,’ he said. ‘If that is the case and we have actually left, then the issue of No Deal falls away.

‘If we haven’t left when the contest comes then No Deal is going to be a huge issue and it is hard to see an alliance with Amber working.’

Mr Johnson’s 2016 leadership bid faltered when Andrea Leadsom, now Leader of the House, launched her own campaign after he failed to confirm a provisional offer to make her Chancellor.

He withdrew after Michael Gove, now Environment Secretary, also abandoned him.

Both are expected to run again.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk