Vote to reveal extent of rift over Brexit
BRITISH PM BATTLING FOR SURVIVAL OVER STRATEGY FOR EXITING EUROPEAN UNION
British Prime Minister Theresa May was facing the anger of Brexit supporters in her party yesterday as they tried to force her to change course on her strategy for leaving the European Union.
May is battling for her political survival after announcing a negotiating plan that enraged Eurosceptics in her Conservative Party, who see it as keeping Britain too closely tied to Brussels.
The size of the threat to her position was expected to become clear yesterday as Eurosceptic lawmakers put forward a series of proposals to toughen up the government’s customs legislation during a parliamentary debate.
May was not expected to be defeated on the amendments, and could even order her government to back some of the least controversial ones to neutralise the impact of the rebellion without watering down her exit plan.
Resignations
But, if she chooses to fight and then sees a large number of her own party rebel, it would undermine her leadership and cast fresh doubt on whether she can deliver the Brexit plan agreed by her cabinet this month at her Chequers country residence.
The Chequers agreement, which is only a starting point for negotiations with the EU, has already led to the resignations of her Brexit minister David Davis and foreign secretary Boris Johnson, and the Euro-sceptic faction say it has to change.
“I suspect the Chequers deal is, in fact, dead,” Conservative lawmaker Bernard Jenkin told the BBC.
It has also been rejected by some in the pro-EU faction in her party, with former minister Justine Greening calling yesterday for a second Brexit referendum to end the stalemate in parliament over the best future relationship with the bloc.
May’s spokesman said there would not be a second referendum under any circumstances, and restated the prime minister’s position that the Chequers plan was the only way to deliver a Brexit that worked in the best interest of the country.
On Sunday, May attempted to face down would-be Eurosceptic rebels by warning that if they sink her premiership then they risk squandering the victory of an EU exit that they have dreamed about for decades.