Cabinet cabal
on March 29, and the Remainers’ efforts are designed to ensure the country will not be ready.
Tory Remainer Dominic Grieve has reportedly made plans which would allow 300 MPs to seize control of the Brexit process and force a referendum through another amendment.
Sources have said that “a majority in the Cabinet” back a customs union solution to end the deadlock which would stop Britain from having its own free trade deals.
Remainers hope that a referendum could be held as early as May 23 when the European Parliament elections are due to be held.
A senior Cabinet minister said that Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, justice secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark back a second referendum. The minister said: “They would do anything to stop Brexit.”
The minister added: “The fear is that Labour will pivot to supporting a second referendum.”
The minister also accused Brexiteers of “overplaying their hand” and warned that the likelihood is that Parliament and the Government will “go for something softer”.
The minister went on: “I think if there is a majority view in the Cabinet it is that we commit to a customs union of some sort and I suspect that is where we will end up.
“The Cabinet in some ways reflects the party over not being clear which way to go except we don’t have any [Brexiteer] hardliners any more. Penny [Mordaunt] and Andrea [Leadsom] are much more pragmatic Brexiteers.
“We have legislation which will have to go through and that can be amended to stop no deal and to have a second referendum.”
Tory members of the powerful Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG) last night said that if the Government agreed to either a customs union solution or second referendum they would not support Mrs May’s government in a no-confidence motion.
One said: “Our representatives were told by the Prime Minister that both these things were off the table so if they are not, she was lying.
“I think you would find a large number of us sitting on our hands and abstaining in a confidence vote.”
But last night a Downing Street source described suggestions that Ms Rudd, Mr Clark and Mr Gauke want to stop Brexit as “deeply unfair” adding that they are “working to find an acceptable deal”.
The source pointed out that Mrs May believes that respecting the result of the EU referendum means taking back control of Britain’s laws, money and borders, but also being able to have free trade deals with the rest of the world.
The source added: “It is utterly irresponsible to play fast and loose with legislation in these circumstances and block the clear will of the British people.”
The campaign to slow down statutory instruments (SI) in parliament – legal measures to transfer EU law into British law – was begun by Labour Remainer peers Lord Foulkes and Lord Adonis gaining support from crossbencher Lord Winston, Labour peers Baroness Kingsmill and Baroness Golding, and former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Deben.
On Wednesday, the wrecking campaign was backed by the entire Labour group in the Lords and with hundreds of SIs needing to go through parliament it could mean that the UK leaves with no deal on March 29 but without the legal framework needed to protect pensions, the environment, energy supplies and other key areas.
Defending the action, Lord Foulkes admitted that the intent was to “make a no deal impossible”.
Tory peer and former Brexit minister Baroness Anelay of St Johns described the guerilla tactics as “disgraceful”.
She said: “Lord Foulkes and Adonis are trying to subvert the will of the British people.
“They are also potentially putting Britain in a dangerous place if we do leave without a deal.”
In a sign that Labour is about to back a second referendum, Sir Keir Starmer told the Fabian Society New Year Conference yesterday that Labour is in “phase three” of their conference commitment, which he went on to spell out as supporting “all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote”.
Leading Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg denied that his comments saying that Mrs May’s deal is better than no Brexit were an indication that the ERG, which he leads, may support the deal after rebelling last week.
He told the Sunday Express: “The Withdrawal Agreement is not something I could support and would strongly favour no deal if that were the alternative.”