Brussels no-deal fears could play into PM’S hands as she is urged to ‘pull’ vote

‘She could go straight to Barnier. They’d definitely see her even if it was at the last minute’

With Theresa May becoming the first Prime Minister in 40 years to be defeated three times in one day – and the Government now widely expected to suffer a further, possibly fatal, humiliation at Tuesday’s meaningful vote – many are calling for Mrs May to renegotiate with the EU.

At last weekend’s G20 in Argentina, Mrs May said the country had “nine days to save Brexit”, but with the clock ticking on her own political career, Tory sources are now suggesting the Prime Minister makes one last-ditch attempt to save her Brexit deal.

Insiders have told The Daily Telegraph that at least three Cabinet ministers have urged Mrs May to “pull” the vote on Dec 11 to try to buy more negotiating time – and return to Brussels. A well-placed source said: “It’s in the Government’s hands to decide when to have the vote and I know of at least three cabinet ministers who have been urging her to pull it altogether. They have effectively told her – the deal is not going to fly until the backstop comes out.

“Labour has said it is calling a vote of no confidence the day after, if she loses the vote, and if the DUP is still offside then she’ll lose that too. The only way to pull the DUP back in will be to scrap the backstop.”

Although Mrs May insists her deal is non-negotiable, telling the Commons on Tuesday, “No backstop means no deal,” some are suggesting she calls an emergency meeting with Michel Barnier this weekend in a final throw of the dice.

Having agreed with leavers including Iain Duncan Smith and Owen Paterson that she would consider technological solutions to the Irish border as a means of avoiding the backstop, that protocol has now made its way into the political declaration for the UK’S future relationship with the EU.

It states: “Such facilitative arrangements and technologies will be considered in developing any alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland on a permanent footing.”

But if she can get this wording into the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement too then it may sway some Brexiters, and indeed the DUP, to vote for it. An insider suggested that the EU – now more fearful of no deal than ever – may be more amenable to the idea following Tuesday’s parliamentary meltdown.

“She could go straight to Barnier,” said the source. “They’d definitely see her, even if it was arranged at the last minute. They are all looking at the deal now, and looking at what can be done with the backstop. They know that if she loses the deal she’s going to have her negotiating hand strengthened.”

The move could prove a win-win for No10. If she succeeds in tweaking the deal, she may get it through Parliament after all. And if she fails she proves, once and for all, that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be renegotiated, so it’s her deal or no Brexit – a prospect that is looking increasingly likely following the former attorney general’s “grievous” amendment. In assuring that MPS have a say in what happens next if Mrs May’s deal is rejected by Parliament, arch remainer Dominic Grieve and his fellow 25 Tory rebels – who notably included a number of May loyalists – appear to have left the door open to a second referendum while simultaneously killing off the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

What is certain is that Mrs May will have to face the music at the EU Council meeting on the 13th and 14th – if she is still in office.

According to Mark Harper, the former chief whip, her best course of action if she loses the vote is to respond immediately with a pledge to renegotiate.

“When there are new facts on the ground, she will have to respond quickly to the changed circumstances and so will the EU,” he said.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister spoke in the House on Tuesday about the fact that the Withdrawal Agreement had been agreed and pointed out the dangers of reopening it.

“The Prime Minister has said reopening the Withdrawal Agreement could lead to a worse outcome.”