Day of chaos
As DUP leader Foster and Tanaiste Coveney are all smiles at the football in Dublin, it’s daggers drawn at Westminster over Brexit
Raft of ministers quit and stormy scenes in Commons
May vows to stick to plan despite backlash
Dodds says: vote for UK or a vassal state
THERESA May has vowed to fight on and deliver Brexit, following a day of turmoil at Westminster.
The Prime Minister (right) was hit by four ministerial resignations and faces a possible vote of no confidence after a backbench revolt.
And during a stormy session in the House of Commons, DUP MP Nigel Dodds told her: “The choice is now clear, we stand up for the United Kingdom — the whole of the United Kingdom and the integrity of the United Kingdom — or we vote for a vassal state and the break-up of the United Kingdom.”
THERESA May has vowed to fight on and deliver Brexit, after one of the toughest days of her premiership saw her hit by four ministerial resignations and a wave of demands for her removal as Prime Minister.
Dominic Raab and Esther McVey sensationally walked out of Mrs May’s Cabinet, while leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg declared he had no confidence in her leadership amid a furious backlash against her plans for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
During three hours of questioning in the House of Commons, the PM faced Tory backbench accusations that the Brexit deal agreed by Cabinet on Wednesday was “dead on arrival” and would never survive the parliamentary vote expected next month.
DUP leader at Westminster Nigel Dodds congratulated those who had resigned and told the PM: “The choice is now clear, we stand up for the United Kingdom — the whole of the United Kingdom and the integrity of the United Kingdom — or we vote for a vassal state and the breakup of the United Kingdom.”
Only a handful of her own MPs spoke up in favour of the plan, denounced by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a “halfbaked deal” which did not meet the six tests his party had set for it to get their support.
But in a defiant press conference in 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister insisted she would “see this through”.
Standing before a pair of Union flags, Mrs May compared herself to her stubborn but effective cricketing hero as she told reporters: “What do you know about Geoffrey Boycott? Geoffrey Boycott stuck to it and he got the runs in the end.”
Her appearance came at the end of a chaotic day in which the value of the pound plunged amid widespread doubts over whether Mrs May could deliver her deal or would even be able to cling on to power.
Mr Raab — the man chosen in July to represent Mrs May in negotiations with Brussels — quit as Brexit Secretary, warning the deal represented a “very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom” because of provisions for Northern Ireland.
And Ms McVey resigned as Work and Pensions Secretary, telling the PM she could not defend the agreement approved by Cabinet in a stormy five-hour meeting.
Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, dramatically announced that he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mrs May’s leadership, declaring that her deal “has turned out to be worse than anticipated and fails to meet the promises given to the nation by the Prime Minister”.
His move is expected to be matched by other ERG members, raising expectations that the tally of letters to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, may soon pass the threshold of 48 which would trigger a confidence vote.
But at a press conference in Number 10, Mrs May said: “I believe with every fibre of my being that the course I have set out is the right one for our country and all our people.”
She added: “Leadership is about taking the right decisions, not the easy ones.
“As PM my job is to bring back a deal that delivers on the vote of the British people, that does that by ending free movement ... ensuring we are not sending vast annual sums to the EU any longer, ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, but also protects jobs and protects people’s livelihoods, protects our security, protects the union of the United Kingdom.
“I believe this is a deal which does deliver that, which is in the national interest, and am I going to see this through? Yes.”
Two more junior ministers — Suella Braverman at the Brexit department and Shailesh Vara at Northern Ireland — also quit.
And Mrs May also lost two parliamentary private secretaries and a vice-chairman of the party.
Another Cabinet Brexiteer, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, was in Downing Street to see the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening.
There were rumours at Westminster that Leave-supporting Michael Gove had been lined up to replace Mr Raab — but he would only agree to the job if he could renegotiate the deal.
Asked about the speculation, Mrs May said Mr Gove was “doing an excellent job” as Environment Secretary.
The developments threaten to derail the Prime Minister’s Brexit strategy ahead of a crucial EU summit, which European Council president Donald Tusk confirmed would take place on November 25, “if nothing ex- traordinary happens”.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Mr Rees-Mogg said he expected sufficient letters to be submitted to force Mrs May to fight for her position, but declined to say how soon.
If Mrs May was ousted as leader, a contest to choose a successor could be completed “not in months, but weeks”, he said.
He refused to name his preferred successor, but he identified Mr Raab, Ms McVey, Boris Johnson, David Davis and Ms Mordaunt as potential candidates.
“This is nothing to do with the ambition of Brexiteers,” he said. “It is everything to do with the ambition of Brexit for this country.”
Labour said the Government was “falling apart before our eyes”, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said Mrs May “appears to be in denial”.
“The facts haven’t changed. There is no majority in Parliament for her deal, and she has rightly conceded that ‘no Brexit’ is the real alternative to it,” said Sir Vince.
“There must now be a People’s Vote to break the deadlock and get the country out of this mess.”
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said it had been a “calamitous day in Westminster”.
She said: “The arguments being played out in the Tory party about Brexit are ones which citizens on the island of Ireland will pay a high price for generations, if a suitable deal is not agreed between Britain and the EU27 over the coming weeks.
“There is no such thing as a good Brexit.
“What is on the table is an agreement that, if implemented, will merely mitigate against the worst aspects of Brexit.”