May faces mutiny amid deal claims
THERESA May faces a potential Tory mutiny over Brexit as diplomats talked down claims of a deal in Brussels to reach a deal ahead of a crunch summit.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and the European Union’s Michel Barnier held talks yesterday ahead of the meeting of EU leaders on Wednesday.
The discussions – from which there were initially noises from some quarters that a deal had potentially been agreed – came as former Brexit secretary David Davis urged a Cabinet revolt against the Prime Minister’s strategy.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries suggested Mr Davis should be installed as interim leader, as that was “the only way to secure the kind of free-trade deal Brexit demanded by Eurosceptics”.
Allies of Mr Davis said he has been contacted by several Tory MPs urging him to run for the leadership.
The announcement of Mr Raab and Mr Barnier’s talks yesterday fuelled speculation that a deal may be close – potentially leading to a flashpoint for Mrs May’s premiership.
“With several big issues still to resolve,
including the Northern Ireland backstop, it was jointly agreed that face-to-face talks were necessary ahead of this week’s October European Council,” a Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said. But senior EU and British sources later admitted a deal was not immediately in sight and Mr Raab has returned home.
Ambassadors to the other 27 EU member states had been summoned to meeting that did not include Britain.
The issue of the Northern Irish backstop – to avoid a hard border – is at the heart of the troubles facing Mrs May’s leadership. The EU’s version, which would see only Northern Ireland remain aligned with Brussels’ rules, has been called unacceptable by Mrs May and is loathed by the DUP, which props up her Government.
Mrs May’s counter-proposal is for a “temporary customs arrangement” for the whole UK – but Tory Brexiteers fear this becoming an open-ended position which would prevent free trade deals abroad.
Cabinet minister Matt Hancock tried to play down speculation that some of his colleagues might quit over the Brexit plans, but was unable to say whether a fixed deadline for any customs arrangement would be written into a deal with Brussels. He said: “There are different ways you can make sure that something is credibly time-limited and that’s what I want to see.”
Tory vice chairman James Cleverly said ministers should use their position to influence policy rather than resign.
Speculation about possible resignations has centred on Andrea Leadsom, Penny Mordaunt and Esther McVey – who all have leadership ambitions. Mrs May’s position also appeared in jeopardy, with as many as 44 letters demanding a vote of no confidence reportedly submitted to the Conservative 1922 Committee – four short of the number required to trigger a ballot.