New Cabinet ally
A EUROSCEPTIC cabinet minister will today urge Tory MPs to “do what is right for our country” by backing Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Liam Fox will warn that politicians “cannot have the luxury of doing what we want for ourselves” and must put the national interest first.
The International Trade Secretary will also say that many MPs have “yet to face up” to the enormity of the decision before them in the crunch Commons vote on the Prime Minister’s agreement next month.
His call-to-arms speech today follows growing concerns among Mrs May’s allies that the Government will suffer a massive defeat in the Commons on December 11.
By last night, 100 Tory MPs had publicly indicated that they will vote against the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal.
Dr Fox, a veteran Brexiteer who has remained loyal to Mrs May, is set to break his silence about her deal in a speech in Bristol today.
Potential
He is set to say: “The divisions of the referendum need to be consigned to the past.
“Now is the time to set aside our differences, and lead our country to a future of freedom, success and prosperity.
“In politics, we cannot always have the luxury of doing what we want for ourselves, but we have an abiding duty to do what is right for our country.”
He is expected to add: “The withdrawal agreement and the political declaration will not please everyone, and we have had some tough choices to make, choices which many in Parliament, on both sides of the House, are yet to face up to.
“But the deal we’ve reached will give us a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU and build this country’s global future, a future that still encompasses Europe, of course, but also the wide fast-growing markets beyond, with all the opportunity that entails.”
Dr Fox will also urge fellow MPs to look beyond the current Brexit rows to the potential for a bright future ahead once the country quits the EU. The cabinet minister is expected to say: “Now is the time to raise our sights, and acknowledge that there is a world beyond Europe, and a time beyond Brexit.
“The Government has made clear that we want to take a balanced approach to the question of our future trading prospects.
“We need to maximise our access to the EU market but without damaging our potential to benefit from emerging trade opportunities in other parts of the world.
“Even before we get to new trade opportunities afforded by new trade agreements there are still considerable export opportunities for British businesses to exploit in existing markets.
“We still have ground to make up on our international competitors in many of these countries abroad.”
Dr Fox’s intervention is a sign that Downing Street is raising the heat on Tory MPs as the so-called “meaningful vote” approaches.
In a sign of the challenge facing the Prime Minister, backbencher Matthew Offord yesterday became the 100th Tory MP to publicly threaten to vote against Mrs May’s deal.
The Hendon MP claimed the Prime Minister’s deal with Brussels would leave the UK “bound to the EU in many ways”.
He said he could not “support a deal which hands over £39billion without th certainty of a future trading relationship”.
Mrs May yesterday urged MPs to focus on how important the vote on her deal was.
Appearing before senior MPs at a hearing of the Commons Liaison Committee, the Prime Minister said: “My focus is on the vote that will take place on December 11 here in this House.
“You want to look at all sorts of options and ideas. I think it
is important Members of Parliament focus on the nature of this vote.
“This is an important point in our history. It is a vote on which we will be deciding whether we deliver on the decision of the British people.
“What has been made clear from the European Union is that this is the deal that has been negotiated and this is the deal that people need to focus on when they are looking at the vote.”
Mrs May again rejected calls for a second EU referendum, warning it would create more uncertainty and division.
Clashes
She insisted a so-called “people’s vote” was not an option if MPs voted against her withdrawal agreement in the crunch Commons vote on December 11.
In series of clashes with senior MPs the Prime Minister refused to be drawn on what would happen if her deal is rejected.
The Prime Minister told the Commons Liaison Committee that seeking an extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process – to enable a referendum to be held – would mean the agreement would fall and they would have to go back to the negotiating table.
She said: “We would simply find ourselves in a period of more uncertainty, more division in this country.”