May’s cry for help to Corbyn

Help me deliver Brexit and pass laws in the Commons, weakened Prime Minister tells opposition leader

THERESA MAY will tomorrow ask Jeremy Corbyn for his support to deliver Brexit and push through other laws as she acknowledges the “reality I now face as Prime Minister”.

Mrs May will make a direct appeal to opponents to “contribute, not just criticise” and help “clarify and improve” her policies in the Commons instead of undermining them. Her appeal comes at a time when her leadership is at its weakest, with calls by Tory MPS for her to stand down after her failure to secure a majority at the election.

Her comments are likely to spark fear among Eurosceptic Tories that she is willing to compromise on Brexit, though the Prime Minister is determined not to soften her position and insists that ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and leaving the single market and the customs union remain red lines.

Mrs May’s speech tomorrow will be her most significant since the election and is designed to redefine her leadership after disappointing at the polls. She will make the comments at the launch of the Taylor review into working practices – a report that will recommend changes for the self-employed – which she launched within four months of entering No 10.

The review formed part of her bid to address the “burning injustices” facing society and Mrs May had hoped the snap election would make it easier to bring forward her domestic agenda.

However, in the week which marks her first anniversary in the top job, Mrs May’s remarks will be seen as an admission of her precarious position.

The Prime Minister will say: “When I commissioned this report I led a majority government in the House of Commons. The reality I now face as Prime Minister is rather different.

“In this new context, it will be even more important to make the case for our policies and our values, and to win the battle of ideas both in Parliament as well as in the country.

“So I say to the other parties in the House…come forward with your own views and ideas about how we can tackle these challenges as a country.

“We may not agree on everything, but through debate and discussion – the hallmarks of our parliamentary democracy – ideas can be clarified and improved and a better way forward found.”

However, Mrs May will insist that she is the “bold” leader the UK needs at a time of “great national change”.

Mrs May’s speech comes as Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP and Greens are to unveil plans to derail her Brexit strategy by tabling amendments to the Repeal Bill which is being published on Thursday – the day of May’s first anniversary in No 10. It transfers 12,000 EU laws and regulations into UK statute.

Labour and other parties have warned it is set to become a “legislative battleground” as they seek to ensure the continued influence of the ECJ.

They also want to curtail the use of

secondary legislation, known as Henry VIII clauses, which enable the Government to change law without full parliamentary scrutiny.

Mrs May is also under pressure from within her Cabinet after Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, said it would be “madness” not to remain as close as possible to the European Union. And ministers said her fragile majority means she could be forced to compromise if pro-european Tory MPS join forces with opposition parties.

Her speech will say it is in the “spirit” of co-operation that her Government will seek to take forward her agenda “at a critical time in our history”.

“And this new context presents us as a government with a wider choice ... we can play it safe or we can strike out with renewed courage and vigour, making the case for our ideas and values and challenging our opponents to contribute, not just criticise,.

“In everything we do, we will act with an unshakeable sense of purpose to build the better, fairer Britain which we all want to see,” she will add.

However, in signs of possible rebellion gathering force it has emerged that Andrew Mitchell, a Tory MP and former chief whip, reportedly told a private dinner that Mrs May is “dead in the water” and has “lost her authority”.

Mr Mitchell, a close ally of Brexit Secretary David Davis, also said that Mrs May is “weak”.

In addition, there were reports that a “kamikaze” group of right-wing Tory MPS are ready to risk handing power to Labour because “a brief dose of a Corbyn government” would end in disaster and provide a long-term boost to the Conservatives.

A senior Government source told The Daily Telegraph that rebel MPS should be “careful what they wish for”.

David Lidington, the Justice Secretary, accused Tory MPS calling for Mrs May to stand down of “drinking too much prosecco” and having “too much sun” at summer parties.

At the weekend, Downing Street was also forced to deny claims that Mrs May would resign later this month, citing ill health.

Sir Vince Cable, who is expected to become the next leader of the Liberal Democrats, yesterday warned that Brexit may yet not happen and said his party still wants a second referendum.