MAY’S LAST STAND
PM wins Cabinet backing for Brexit deal but faces rebellion in Parliament
THERESA May won Cabinet backing for her Brexit deal last night – but is facing an uphill battle to get it through the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister cleared the latest hurdle on the road out of Europe during a marathon five-hour meeting which stretched on far beyond its expected time.
But the Cabinet are understood to have been split, with up to 11 ministers opposed to the plans.
May will be bracing herself for resignations today and there is a chance she will face a vote of no confidence.
It would take 48 letters from Tory MPs – just 15 per cent of the parliamentary party – to be submitted to 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady for such a vote to be triggered.
The tally before yesterday was rumoured to be as high as 40. One Brexiteer Tory MP last night said it was “tantalisingly close”.
May’s pact cleared the way for a special Brexit summit in Brussels – probably on November 25 – for EU leaders to approve the deal.
That would be followed by a crucial Commons vote in which MPs will hold Britain’s future in their hands.
Speaking on the steps of 10 Downing Street, May acknowledged there would be “difficult days ahead” and announced she will outline the deal to MPs in the House of Commons today.
She added: “This is a decisive step which enables us to move on and finalise the deal in the days ahead.
“I firmly believe, with my head and my heart, that this is a decision which is in the best interests of the United Kingdom.”
It is hard to see how May will get the deal through parliament with Labour and SNP MPs – and hardline Tory Brexiteers – all expected to vote against it.
The DUP, who prop up May’s minority Government, also said they would vote against the deal.
And while Scottish Secretary David Mundell backed the deal in Cabinet last night, Scots Tory MPs are worried about the provisions on fishing.
The Tories, whose Brexit stance against the Common Fisheries Policy revived Tory fortunes in north east fishing constituencies, are up in arms about what they called “woolly” assurances on fishing sovereignty.
They were also alarmed by May’s performance at Prime Minister’s Questions where she could not give outright assurances that a UK-wide customs agreement with the EU, to keep trade flowing over the Irish border, will not come at the cost of European fishermen maintaining access to British fishing waters.
Fishermen’s leaders still fear an ambush by EU fishing nations like France and Spain to maintain common access to UK waters even after the 2020 transition to leave the EU.
That was the blunt message Mundell took into the emergency meeting which began at 2pm yesterday.
Arriving at Downing Street about the same time was a hand-delivered letter from all 13 Scottish Tory MPs, warning May they will not support a Brexit deal
that gives unrestricted access to EU fishing fleets.
Mundell, who signed the letter, explained his decision to support May’s deal last night.
He said: “I was content to move to the next stage of the process on the basis that Brexit will deliver for our fishing industry – as I and colleagues set out in our letter – and on the basis that arrangements for Northern Ireland will not undermine the economic or constitutional integrity of the UK.
“The worst possible outcome for Scotland and the whole of the UK would be a no deal departure from the EU.”
Scots Tories made it clear that if Mundell resigns over the fishing issue, none of them would take his place, leaving May with no MP from north of the Border to take up the post.
The group told the PM she “must deliver” on the matter.
The letter stated: “You said in your conference speech that anything less would be a ‘betrayal of Scotland’ and we completely agree.
“This has raised expectations in the fishing industry that Brexit will lead to complete control and full sovereignty over domestic waters that we must deliver on.
“To deliver on these expectations, we could not support an agreement that would prevent the UK from independently negotiating access and quota shares. That would mean that we would not be leaving the CFP in practice and would be becoming an independent coastal state in name only.”
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “We have been saying for two years the only way forward is for the UK to be an independent coastal state with the power to determine who catches what, where and when in our waters.”
Labour’s Ian Murray, meanwhile, warned Brexit could split the Union. The Edinburgh South MP said: “The SNP are already using this to talk up independence, and it’s shameful the Tories are jeopardising the foundation of our Union.”
Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Not long off call with PM. She tried to tell me Scotland’s ‘distinctive’ interests had been protected.
“I pointed out that there isn’t a single mention of Scotland in the agreement, that it disregards our interests, and puts Scotland at a serious competitive disadvantage.”