May’s showdown after calling rebels’ bluff
As PM refuses Remainer calls for Brexit veto, she faces new Commons vote
THERESA May was facing a dramatic Commons showdown with Tory Brexit rebels last night, after a compromise on vital legislation collapsed in acrimony.
Diehard Tory Remainers warned that the Prime Minister faced ‘crunch time’ in the Commons next week after throwing out their demands for Parliament to be given a veto over Brexit.
Government sources acknowledged the vote next Wednesday would be ‘incredibly tight’ – and could even be lost.
But they said the principle that the referendum result should be respected in all circumstances was so important it could not be surrendered to MPs who will stop at nothing to thwart Brexit.
Mrs May bought off a Tory rebellion over the EU Withdrawal Bill on Tuesday after promising talks with Tory rebels over their demands for a ‘ meaningful vote’ on the Brexit process. After 48 hours of wrangling, ministers last night tabled compromise proposals that would give MPs a vote even if talks with Brussels collapse and there is no deal to consider.
But rebel MPs reacted furiously after the Prime Minister vetoed their demand to be able to ‘direct’ the Government to go back to Brussels or delay Brexit if there is no deal. The collapse in talks sets up a high-stakes showdown next week. The House of Lords will consider the Government’s amendment on Monday, when they are expected to reject it.
In its place they are set to impose plans drafted by rebel ringleader Dominic Grieve which would put Parliament, rather than the Government, in the driving seat for the final stage of the Brexit talks if ministers fail to clinch a deal acceptable to MPs.
It will then return to the Commons on Wednesday, with government sources saying Mr Grieve’s demands were ‘unacceptable’. One said of the rebels: ‘We’ve decided it’s time to call their bluff. Dominic Grieve said he wanted a meaningful vote, and this will be one, and he said he didn’t want to stop Brexit and now he can’t.’
Another said: ‘There was always going to have to be a showdown at some point. The PM is clear that we have to deliver on the verdict of the referendum.’
Last night, a YouGov poll for The Times found voters were opposed to the idea of allowing Parliament to block Brexit by a margin of 49 per cent to 32.
Mrs May’s intervention last week saw the Government throw out the Lords’ demands on a meaningful vote by 324 votes to 298. Ahead of the vote, the Prime Minister held talks with at least 13 Tory rebels in a bid to head off defeat. In the end only two voted against the Government – former ministers Ken Clarke and Anna Soubry.
The Government’s compromise amendment would give MPs a vote in the event of there being no deal by January 21 next year. But the vote would be on a ‘ neutral motion’, which would allow MPs to debate and take note of the fact, but not to affect what happens next. Unlike most parliamentary motions, it could not be amended – meaning rebel MPs would have no opportunity to block Brexit at the final moment.
Last night Miss Soubry said the rebels had been betrayed and many more would vote against the Government next week.
Mr Grieve said the Government’s plans were ‘unacceptable’.
Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed that Mr Grieve, the leader of the rebels, held private talks in the European Commission’s London headquarters with senior figures from campaigns trying to halt Brexit or engineer a second referendum.
Tory MP Jacob Rees- Mogg accused Mr Grieve of ‘supping with the devil’ following the talks with Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, former Sunday Telegraph editor Patience Wheatcroft and a string of anti-Brexit peers. Mr Grieve denied being involved in a ‘conspiracy’ to stop Brexit, adding: ‘I disagree with the characterisation of any of the people present as being the devil.’
It emerged last night that Mr Grieve may not face the voters over his attempts to thwart Brexit, with the Conservative Home website reporting that he may not stand again in Beaconsfield.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said MPs already had the power to bring down the Government if they were unhappy with the final deal. ‘I think we’re going to get a meaningful vote anyway,’ he said. ‘The meaningful vote is going to be either the Government’s deal is accepted, in which case that’s the meaningful vote accepted. Or it isn’t accepted. In which case, frankly, there’s going to be a new Government.’
Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, signalled his party would back the Tory rebels, saying: ‘The Government’s amendment is simply not good enough.’
The YouGov poll also found that Jeremy Corbyn has fallen further behind Mrs May in the popularity stakes. She extended her lead to 15 points, with 39 per cent saying she was the most suitable for the job of Prime Minister.
The Labour leader was backed by 24 per cent.
‘We have to deliver on the referendum’