Desperate measures on a desperate day
Tensions were high on both sides as the Government battled to win over both Brexiteers and Remainers
WITH just 25 minutes left to save Theresa May from a humiliating Brexit defeat that could have defined her premiership yesterday evening, the Government resorted to desperate measures.
The Prime Minister was facing the prospect of defeat over an amendment by Tory rebels which would have forced the Government to make staying in the customs union an “objective” if it failed to secure a deal.
After a day of tense negotiations between whips and rebel Tory MPS, matters were looking grim.
In a series of one-to-one meetings, ministers had tried to appeal to the rebels’ “common sense”, pointing out that leaving the customs union was a manifesto commitment.
They had responded with absolute fury and were intent on revenge after the Government’s decision to accept a series of Eurosceptic amendments that “killed” the Prime Minister’s Chequers compromise.
As Stephen Hammond, one of the leading rebels who tabled the amendment, delivered his address in the Commons yesterday evening, he was interrupted by George Hollingbery, the international trade minister.
In an extraordinary exchange, Mr Hollingbery and Mr Hammond began wrangling over the Dispatch Box, with the future of the Prime Minister hanging between them.
The Government offered to table a compromise amendment in the Lords that would retain the “essence” of what rebels were asking for – but refer to a “customs arrangement” rather than the “customs union”.
For a brief moment, Mr Hammond reflected on the Government’s “generous offer”, conceded that it was “tempting”, before rejecting it outright.
The rebels were pushing ahead. With just three minutes to go before the vote yesterday evening, Julian Smith, the Chief Whip, approached Nicky Morgan and Sarah Wollaston – two of the leading rebels. Mrs Morgan reportedly told him to “sod off ”.
Oliver Letwin, a former Cabinet minister who often acts as a peacemaker between the Prime Minister and rebels, was subsequently dispatched in an attempt to win round the rebels.
In the voting lobbies, the tensions were laid bare. Labour MPS made claims that there was “extreme verbal bullying” of pro-european Tory MPS, which were denied by the Government.
However, whips did warn proeuropean Tory MPS that the consequences of rebelling could be dire and ultimately turn into a “confidence issue”.
Tory Eurosceptics, they suggested, would be so incensed by the defeat that they would trigger a vote of no confidence in Theresa May, ultimately leading to a General Election.
Mr Hammond is understood to have shared the stark warning with fellow pro-europeans in the Chamber, one of whom responded by describing the concerns as “rubbish”. Privately, leading Tory Eurosceptics told The Daily Telegraph that they were planning no such thing – they viewed the customs union amendment as ultimately meaningless.
For the Prime Minister, however, it represented a clear red line given her commitment to leaving “the”, “a” and any other form of customs union after Brexit.
It would have breached the Tory manifesto and dealt a huge blow to her authority. As the vote on the customs union approached, events took a significant turn for the worse. Philip Lee, a former minister who quit in protest over Brexit last month, tabled an apparently anodyne amendment which would force the UK to remain in the European Medicines Agency after Brexit.
Whips were genuinely shocked when the Government was defeated on the measure by four votes. As MPS filed out of the Chamber to vote on the Customs Union amendment at 6.30pm, the omens looked far from auspicious.
In the event, the Government scraped through. Mrs May won by 307 votes to 301, with just 12 Tory MPS choosing to rebel. She was saved by the support of hardline Labour Brexiteers and the decision of more moderate pro-europeans not to rebel.
The warnings from the whips appeared to have been enough to win round several pro-europeans said to be considering rebelling, including Paul Masterton, Jeremy Lefroy and Vicky Ford. The result was met with huge cheers from the Tory benches, and relief from Mrs May.
Tom Swarbrick, a former Downing Street staffer who is now a presenter at LBC, said: “There’s a cupboard in No 10 which, at the very back, has a few half-drunk old merlots in it.
“Suggest they might be quietly emptied this evening.”
Last night, there were claims that the Government resorted to dirty tactics to win the vote. Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, who is currently on maternity leave, accused the Government of going back on an agreement to “pair” her up with one of its own MPS.
Under the convention, MPS of opposing parties are “paired up” when one is unable to vote, so that their absence will not affect the result of the vote.
Ms Swinson said she was given “assurances” that Brandon Lewis, the chairman of the Conservative Party, would be paired with her, only for him to go ahead and vote anyway. “Desperate stuff,” she said.
Mr Lewis apologised last night, saying it was an “honest mistake” made by the whips in “fast-moving circumstances”, but Ms Swinson said it was “neither honest, nor a mistake” and the Government’s response was “not credible”.
Meanwhile, there was one last key piece of business to attend to.
In the run-up to yesterday’s vote the Mrs May had infuriated Tory MPS by announcing plans to bring forward summer recess by five days. Nicholas Soames, a Tory MP and the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, described the plans as “idiotic” and signalled his intention to vote against them.
He was followed by MPS from all wings of the party, concerned that it made the Prime Minister look like she was “running scared” at a time when her leadership and political authority was on the line.
Labour soon joined in, announcing that it would vote against the plans – despite having previously signalled to the Government that it would support an early summer holiday.
Matters came to a head in Cabinet where Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, made clear he was opposed to an early summer recess, arguing that there was plenty of business to attend to.
Shortly after 7pm the Government announced that it was abandoning the plans.
The Prime Minister ended the day with her authority just about intact and another leadership crisis averted.
‘There’s a cupboard in No 10 which has a few half-drunk old merlots in it. Suggest they might be quietly emptied this evening’