May at war over ‘suicidal’ election
No.10 advisers bitterly divided as last-gasp Brexit vote and Labour poll gains up the ante
DOWNING Street has been plunged into civil war over whether Theresa May should trigger a general election this week, as the Brexit crisis threatens to overwhelm her government.
Her closest advisers are bitterly divided over whether to call a snap poll if Mrs May loses a last-chance Brexit vote this week and are also split over whether she should be in charge of the campaign.
A Mail on Sunday poll today gives the Labour party a five-point lead over the Tories, prompting pollsters to say that calling an election would be a ‘kamikaze’ move by Mrs May.
It is set to be another tumultuous week as Mrs May mounts a desperate, last-ditch attempt to win support for her deal as MPs try to coalesce around a Brexit option that can achieve a majority to avoid the UK crashing out with no deal.
Fine Gael Europe Minister Helen McEntee said yesterday that, in the event of no deal, the Irish Government faces a ‘very difficult’ task fulfilling both our EU single market and Good Friday Agreement obligations. She favours another extension as challenges surrounding an Irish border in the event of a hardBrexit are tackled.
Ms McEntee said: ‘How we protect the Single Market and the Customs Union? These are discussions that we have been having and will continue to have into the coming week. It is about making sure that our obligations to the EU are fulfilled and the obligations we have as co-guarantors of an international peace treaty are also upheld.
‘It is very difficult in the event of a no-deal to bring those two together. But we are absolutely determined to do that. We have always had the support of the EU and I don’t see that changing,’ she said. However, Ms McEntee said that German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron would not insist that a hard border is installed in the event of a no-deal Brexit when they meet separately with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar this week.
‘It’s not a meeting, and neither is the meeting with Macron, where they are going to say, “We’re going to force you to put a border up on the island of Ireland,”’ she said.
‘Instead, they will talk about how we can protect the Single Market and the Good Friday Agreement at the same time.’
Ms McEntee also indicated that another extension to the Brexit date could be granted and that Ireland would support such a move. ‘We are moving much closer to a no-deal… at the same time there are a number of things that could play out this week that could completely change direction and, if that’s the case, we would absolutely support the possibility of a longer extension.
‘A longer extension is better for Ireland. We’re not in a situation where we suddenly have a no-deal and, even worse, a disorderly no-deal, which would be catastrophic,’ she said.
Fianna Fáil TD and Housing spokesman Darragh O’Brien said an additional extension would be pointless without a plan as to what happens once it ends. ‘All of us earnestly hope that still at this very late stage that an arrangement can be made but I do get a sense very clearly from our European colleagues that patience is wearing very thin and Europe itself has to move forward. ‘Talk of extensions will only really wash if there is a road map for what it is going to mean,’ he said. In the British parliament, a fresh round of ‘indicative votes’ look set for tomorrow and Wednesday and are expected to show that parliament wants to stay tied to Brussels tariff rules.
It would set up a showdown on Thursday, with Mrs May’s deal – which has been defeated three times already – given one last chance to get over the line to avoid a Brexit extension.
Some of Mrs May’s advisers are pushing for the run-off to come as early as Tuesday, meaning a election could conceivably be called as soon as Wednesday.
Last night, EU sources said it would still be possible for the UK to leave on May 22 if Mrs May’s deal is passed this week. But an emergency meeting of the EU 27 has been convened for April 8 in case the deal fails to get parliamentary approval. Mrs May is under pressure from Brexiteers who have organised a new leave ministers WhatsApp group to co-ordinate their demand that Britain leaves on that date, even without a deal, and fight off a bid by remainers to foist a customs union on the Government in an effort to soften Brexit.
Last night No.10 and the Cabinet were split down the middle over what Mrs May should do if the Commons supports UK membership of a Customs Union.
The Deltapoll survey for The Mail on Sunday puts Labour on 41%, five points clear of the Conservatives on 36%. If this result were to be repeated at an election, Labour would win 307 seats, the Conservatives 264.
Although Mr Corbyn would be 19 seats short of a majority, it would leave him in pole position to move into No.10 if he could strike a deal with Scottish Nationalists.
The new poll also shows that Boris Johnson enjoys a clear lead among the electorate in the race to succeed Mrs May as Tory leader, with more than twice the level of support of his closest rival, home secretary Sajid Javid.
‘They won’t force us to put a border up’
‘A longer extension is better for Ireland’
craig.hughes@mailonsunday.ie