Brexit: Son of Czech Jew, Dominic Raab, frontrunner to be PM if May ousted
As the prime minister faces a vote of no confidence in the Conservative party, Dominic Raab could be in the mix to challenge for the top job
As Brexit chaos engulfs the Conservative party with Tory MPs requesting a vote of confidence in Theresa May – one potential successor has Jewish roots.
Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab (joint favourite with Boris Johnson at 5-1 with Ladbrokes) has refused to rule out standing in a leadership contest should May be ousted.
Mr Raab, 44, the son of a Czech-born Jewish father who came to Britain in 1938, has been the MP for Esher and Walton since he was elected in 2010.
A prominent Brexiteer in the referendum campaign, was appointed as Brexit Secretary in July but resigned from the role in November, saying he could not support Mrs May’s deal.
He has spoken extensively about his Jewish roots, using his speech to the Conservative Party conference, to reflect on how the experiences of his father Peter’s early passage to England underscores his determination to fight racism. His father fled the Nazis aged six, and Raab said his story inspires him to fight antisemitism “until my last breath”.
He said his father “grew up knowing that his grandmother, grandfather, most of his relatives, the loved ones he left behind, had been systematically slaughtered for no other reason that that they were Jews”.
Raab added, Peter “never forgot what happened to his family,” adding: “I will honour his memory by fighting the scourge of antisemitism and racism until my last breath”.
The former Brexit chief also had a lead role advising the Palestinian during the Oslo peace negotiations in the 1990s.
Other front-runners include Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid and Michael Gove.
Watch Raab’s comments at the Tory conference here:
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