May faces ‘moment of truth’ on Brexit deal
Major backlash from Cabinet ministers as PM presents her long-awaited plan
THERESA MAY is facing a major backlash that could threaten her Premiership after finally unveiling her Brexit deal to the Cabinet.
Senior ministers were last night being called in to Downing Street one-byone to be briefed on the deal ahead of an emergency Cabinet meeting today.
The European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPS were putting Leave-supporting ministers under intense pressure to resign over the plan, with multiple Cabinet ministers thought to be considering their positions. The DUP, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats also issued statements setting out their opposition to the deal, which has not yet even been published.
Leaders of all four opposition parties wrote a joint letter to the Prime Minister demanding a “truly meaningful vote” on the deal.
David Davis, former Brexit secretary, said: “This is the moment of truth. This is the fork in the road.”
Last night, although Downing Street expressed optimism, it remained unclear how the plan had any chance of passing through Parliament.
Following 18 months of fraught negotiations, the Prime Minister yesterday confirmed that she had reached a final deal with Brussels.
The deal will involve a two-year transition until 2021, followed by a highly contentious all-uk customs union “backstop” in the event that the Irish border issue cannot be resolved.
It is understood that further protections tying Northern Ireland close to the EU are also contained in the document. Other potential flashpoints include fishing rights, state aid and alignment with European social and environmental regulations.
The 500-page deal is also accompanied by a five-page “political declaration”, which is being closely studied by ministers amid concerns it will be too vague to establish a future relationship. Ministers were not entrusted to take a copy of the draft deal home with them but instead were given access to a secure reading room in the Cabinet Office.
Last night there were reports that Mrs May had won the support of five “pivotal” Cabinet ministers – Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary and Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General.
However Cabinet sources suggested Mr Raab was “unhappy” with parts of the deal, while Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons, Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary and Esther Mcvey, the Work and Pensions Secretary were said to have significant reservations.
Tory Eurosceptics were infuriated by
‘We are going to stay effectively in large parts of the single market.
It is vassal-state stuff’
the deal, with Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, suggesting that Mrs May’s “days are numbered”.
Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, gave a strong indication last night that her party would not give their votes to Mrs May’s deal. She said the DUP would not back a deal that will “fundamentally undermine the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom”.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, told the Cabinet that Northern Ireland would be in a “different regulatory regime” under the customs backstop and “subject to EU law and institutions”.
He warned ministers that the plans may “cross a line” for the DUP and those concerned about the future of the Union, adding that the decision of
the Cabinet is ultimately about how much “risk they are prepared to take”.
Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, last night told BBC News: “This has been a chronicle of a death foretold for some months now. We are going to stay in the Customs Union. We are going to stay effectively in large parts of the single market.
“It is vassal-state stuff. For the first time in 1,000 years this place, this Parliament will not have a say over the laws that govern this country. It is a quite incredible state of affairs.”
Mrs May will today appeal to her ministers to put the “national interest” first and back her deal, even if they find parts of it “difficult” to accept.
However, Eurosceptic ministers have raised repeated concerns about the customs backstop, which will keep Britain in a temporary customs union with the EU in the event that a solution to the Irish border issue cannot be found.
They have been demanding Britain should have a “unilateral” ability break off from the temporary customs arrangement, without which they believe the UK could be “trapped” in a customs union with the EU.
The Prime Minister had tabled plans for an “independent” mechanism but it was rejected by the EU.
Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons, last night made clear she was not immediately resigning despite concerns over the deal after a “good discussion” with the Prime Minister.
Mr Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, was last night asked by The Daily Telegraph if the Government’s “days are numbered”.
“If this is the case, the answer is almost certainly yes,” he said. “The Government will have put itself in an impossible position because they are trying to promote something which they themselves said they would never promote. How can you ask the party to vote for something which you yourself as Prime Minister and the Cabinet would never ever allow?”
Mr Duncan Smith said that the “question will be asked” about whether the Tories need a new leader.
Jacob Rees-mogg, the leader of a 60-strong group of Eurosceptic Tory MPS, said: “The deal that is proposed is not in the national interest, does not keep faith with early commitments and will not succeed.
“Plans must be made and policy directed to making it succeed even in the event of the EU pursuing a punishment Brexit.
“To make this happen, a new style of leadership will be required – not one that accepts responsibility for gently managing decline but one that sees the real advantages of a global Britain.”
The decision to invite ministers individually to Downing Street drew comparisons to Margaret Thatcher in 1990, when ministers went to see her oneby-one and told her she had to go.
Brussels sources said that there will be a review six months before the end of the transition period which will determine whether the UK is ready to move to a free trade deal.