The dramatic 48 hours that left the Government edging towards implosion
Prime Minister faces toughest challenge of leadership amid talk of a coordinated coup
LEAVING Chequers on Friday night the Prime Minister could be forgiven for thinking she had got away with it, albeit by the skin of her teeth.
Having secured the agreement of most of the Cabinet for her Brexit plan, despite criticism from Boris Johnson and David Davis, she had seen out the week without any resignations.
But she wakes up this morning facing the toughest challenge of her time in Downing Street to date.
The resignations of two of her most senior Cabinet ministers comes amid growing talk of a leadership challenge. There are also claims she may struggle to get Brexit legislation through Parliament, as her now free former ministers exert pressure from the back benches.
In the space of just 24 hours, talk of a possible coup has shifted from tearoom whisper to a real possibility.
It began with a growing sense of unease in No10 after the meeting at Chequers broke up. Mr Davis had openly challenged Mrs May and her new deal for Brussels in front of other ministers. Earlier in the week he had penned a letter, warning that Michel Barnier would reject her proposed customs arrangement out of hand.
Having failed to convince her to reconsider, Mr Davis left his colleagues in no doubt about the scale of the climbdown being offered, and there was a sense he could be on the brink of walking out.
As the Cabinet members were driven home in their ministerial cars, probrexit Tory MPS were scathing about the plan and the grumbling grew louder early on Saturday morning.
Some were furious that the Brexit and Foreign Secretaries had failed to resign after it became apparent that the deal could seriously hamper the UK’S ability to strike new free trade deals.
There were accusations that the two men valued their ministerial cars over their principles.
Others were stung by a sense of betrayal. Mrs May’s White Paper revealed concessions to the EU they thought had been taken off the table months ago. Yet despite the febrile atmosphere among passionate Brexiteers, the dam did not burst.
As Mrs May and her aides gathered to deconstruct the events of the previous day, there was still a sense that the Cabinet may hold together. Chris Grayling and Philip Hammond penned a joint newspaper opinion piece and Michael Gove agreed to defend the deal on the Sunday morning political television shows.
But the pressure rose again on Sunday as sources threatened a leadership battle in the morning newspapers and Jacob Rees-mogg, the leader of the probrexit Tory group, threatened to vote down the deal in Parliament.
Mr Gove’s attempts to calm fears that the Government had sold out were lukewarm, as he admitted the deal was not what he had hoped for but it was the best chance at a “proper” exit from the union. Behind the scenes the discontent was growing.
For Mr Davis it had been building for much of the week. Last Monday the former Brexit secretary told the Prime Minister of his concerns and on Wednesday he failed to turn up to Prime Minister’s Questions.
Later, it emerged he had written a letter setting out why the plan would not work and would be rejected by Brussels after realising the full extent of the concessions. Sources close to the former minister said he hoped the letter would force Mrs May to change her mind before Friday, giving ministers time to come up with a new plan and agree it before going back to the EU.
Without doing so, he feared, the UK would be forced to accept something it did not want because of the dwindling time left to thrash out a deal. He had repeatedly warned of the need to come up with a firm position urgently.
By the time the Cabinet gathered at Chequers the die had been cast for Mr Davis, even as Liam Fox, the Trade Secretary, and Mr Gove appeared reassured.
Friends say he knew the gathering could be his last.
“When we debated this at Cabinet on Friday my opening remark to Theresa was, ‘Prime Minister, as you know I’m going to be the odd man out in this’,” he said. “She knew this because I had written to her earlier in the week.”
After the meeting he called his ministerial colleagues to talk through what had been discussed. With no phones or computers allowed at Chequers and ministers kept at the country house until late into the night, Mr Davis had no time to speak to his Conservative association or his family about the possibility of a resignation.
He discussed leaving government with his wife and political friends on Saturday, before spending Sunday at Silverstone where the decision crystallised in his mind.
On Sunday at 8pm, he met the chief whip in Westminster, spoke to the Prime Minister on the phone and it was all over. An exchange of letters was prepared and released at 11.30pm, sending political journalists dashing to write up the news and newspaper production teams scrambling to redraw the front pages.
With claims of a leadership battle looming, Steve Baker, a Brexit minister, became the second to leave. Rumours began to swirl of a coordinated scheme to challenge the leadership as thoughts turned to Boris Johnson.
Earlier reports that minister Suella Braverman had also resigned later turned out to be false.
Spotted riding into Westminster on his motorbike yesterday morning, Mr Baker spoke of how upset he was, later telling the BBC he had been left “furious” by “childish” No 10 briefings ahead of the Cabinet meeting.
Mr Davis is said to have told friends the behaviour of Mrs May’s aides was “nasty and unnecessary”. The resignations could not have come at a worse time for Mrs May, just hours before she was due to make a statement in the Commons about her Brexit plan. There were reports – quickly denied – that Mr Davis had been offered Mr Johnson’s job in a bid to get him to stay.
Despite the now deafening silence of Mr Johnson, No10 prepared to explain how the new deal would work, scheduling private meetings with opposition MPS, which prompted outrage among Conservatives.
Mrs May’s closest adviser was forced not to attend as a result.
When the Foreign Secretary failed to turn up to a meeting of Cobra, then cancelled a lunch at the Western Balkans summit, which he was due to host, alarm bells sounded in Whitehall.
Mr Johnson’s advisers stopped answering their phones, then it emerged the Foreign Secretary was holed up in his official residence with his closest aides, where he was reported to be considering his options. A live television feed outside showed his ministerial car waiting to take him to the meeting. Sources said he told his driver three times he was ready to leave and three times he failed to get into the vehicle.
Alan Duncan, another foreign office minister, was forced to step in and chair the summit at the last minute.
Then, as Mrs May was being driven to the House of Commons, a short statement dropped into the in-boxes of political journalists, reading: “This afternoon, the Prime Minister accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary. His replacement will be announced shortly. The Prime Minister thanks Boris for his work.” In a move designed to deprive him of the chance to announce his decision himself, the Prime Minister had released the news before he had finished writing his resignation statement, which was due to be published later yesterday evening. Even so, as she stood in the House of Commons to unenthusiastic cheers from her own MPS, the mood was sombre.
Conservative MPS were glued to their phones amid claims more ministers could resign. Esther Mcvey was forced to deny rumours she was considering her position as Work and Pensions Secretary.
Mrs May was jeered as she talked of the Cabinet’s agreement for her plan.
After almost two hours on her feet, Mrs May left the chamber to face down her MPS at a meeting of the 1922 Committee, amid claims 48 of her own party had submitted letters calling for a vote of no confidence in her.
One MP told her that “the 17 million people who voted to leave would feel betrayed and they feel very strongly about it”.
Another MP said the meeting appeared “orchestrated”, with former Cabinet ministers Sir Patrick Mcloughlin and Damian Green both urging Tory MPS not to fight Mrs May’s deal.
Asked if the party was splitting, Mr Rees-mogg said afterwards: “If the Government plans to get the Chequers deal through on the back of Labour Party votes, that was the most divisive thing they could do and it would be a split coming from the top.”
‘The 17 million people who voted to leave would feel betrayed and they feel very strongly about it’