Bombshell as May goes with view of the minority
Cabinet in rows and recriminations while Prime Minister seeks consensus with the Labour leader
Camilla Tominey,
Gordon Rayner, Christopher Hope
Steven Swinford
IT WAS billed as the ultimate Brexit showdown and in the end the eighthour marathon meeting ended in rows and recriminations after a Cabinet majority for no deal was ignored in favour of a customs union consensus with Jeremy Corbyn.
The fact it started with a brief delay should have acted as an omen. Ministers had been summoned to Downing Street for 8.30am only for it to be postponed until 9.30am – and that the afternoon session might be cancelled.
Nearly eight hours later, secretaries of state emerged stony-faced and seemingly unwilling to speak to the press. Half an hour after that, the Prime Minister delivered her bombshell statement.
It quickly emerged that despite 14 Cabinet members supporting no deal compared with 10 going for a customs union (with others sitting on the fence), Mrs May opted to go with the minority.
Having gained a reputation for kicking the can down the road, the Prime Minister’s 6pm statement indicated something had finally changed – she was now not only seeking another extension to Article 50 but also a form of coalition with the Labour leader.
Insisting he would be happy to meet his Dispatch Box nemesis, No 10 briefed that the Labour leader should prepare to meet as early as today.
Cabinet ministers had their phones confiscated as soon as they went through the black door – and were not reunited with them until they left the building, the skies above darkening.
As they settled into their seats for a meeting the equivalent of flying to Barbados, Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said he wanted everyone formally to record whether they were for or against a long extension. His request was turned down. There was no show of hands. Arguing the Government should not do a deal with Labour, the former chief whip implored Mrs May: “We have to keep the April 12 exit date on the table, otherwise the drive to deliver votes will be gone.”
In a meeting, Downing Street described as “wide-ranging” in which “everyone spoke” (known in journalese as a cabinet row), 14 ministers were passionately in favour of keeping no deal on the table. As well as Mr Williamson, they were Liam Fox, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Sajid Javid, Chris Grayling, Jeremy Wright, Andrea Leadsom, Jeremy Hunt, Baroness Evans, Stephen Barclay, James Brokenshire, Alun Cairns and Brandon Lewis.
Remainers tried to spin that only four (Williamson, Mordaunt, Grayling, Truss) were opposed to an extension versus 17 in favour, but Brexiteers insisted it was “definitely” 14.
Several ministers spoke for an extension – Philip Hammond, David Gauke, Greg Clark, David Lidington, Karen Bradley, Amber Rudd, Claire Perry, Geoffrey Cox – and none other than Vote Leave campaigner Michael Gove. The Daily Telegraph learnt that earlier this week, the Environment Secretary was among 10 cabinet ministers of 170 signatories to a letter from Tory MPS urging Mrs May to take Britain out of
‘I want to leave, I am passionate about leaving, I campaigned to leave, but Prime Minister, we have to do this differently’
the EU by May 22 or face the electoral consequences. Mr Cox, the Attorney General, had also previously indicated he would back no deal. One Brexiteer minister said they had been “lined up” to switch sides although another was more generous, saying the pair of leavers had made decisive contributions at the meeting.
Mr Cox said: “I want to leave, I am passionate about leaving, I campaigned to leave, but Prime Minister, we have to do this differently.” Amber Rudd, the Work and Pensions Secretary, told the meeting: “We can have our own views but not our own facts.”
A source close to a Remainer Cabinet minister said: “It is a victory, no doubt, but let’s see. It is a big move toward soft Brexit but frankly who knows how long it will hold? She will come under enormous pressure from the ERG and others. This is the type of thing that should have happened years ago.”
There was a break for sandwiches and wine. Political Cabinet had talked for four and a half hours and now Mrs May convened a 2pm meeting of main Cabinet to seek agreement over what had been discussed.
As heated talks continued, Mr Williamson told Mrs May there was “a clear indication from Cabinet that we would not tolerate a long extension” and that she needed to find out what constituted an acceptable extension, “bearing in mind the majority of the Cabinet is not willing to tolerate anything beyond May 22”. One minister said that in response: “She fudged – making it clear her preference was not for no deal.”
Damian Hinds proposed single transferable votes on a series of ideas but others said this would end in chaos. Brexiteers pushed Mrs May to go back to the EU and for further concessions.
Claire Perry called for a government of national unity and Philip Hammond reportedly suggested a “democratic process to be offered to the EU” involving a second referendum or a general election in return for a long extension. The Chancellor later denied this.
Toward the end, ministers were kettled in a room while Mrs May prepared her statement, described by an insider
as a team effort. “We just wanted to be liberated”, said one minister. Another remarked: “Everyone is resigned to the fact that we are in the s--- and we have to find a way out.”
The statement, delivered at her lectern, confirmed Brexiteers’ worse fears – that rather than signalling her willingness to take the UK out of the EU with no deal, she was planning to attempt a customs union consensus with the Opposition and hold more meaningful votes to win the support of MPS.
Jacob Rees-mogg, chairman of the ERG, said: “What was announced today was an attempt to overturn the referendum that wanted a clear Brexit, to do a deal with a socialist who doesn’t want Brexit and is not in line with the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitments or with the referendum. This is all about getting further and further away from the Brexit people voted for, which is very serious.”
Revealing there was “not a great deal of enthusiasm” for a general election at No10, a spokesman insisted there was no manifesto breach: “We are approaching this in a constructive spirit”.
It emerged that Mrs May was “more concerned about revoking article 50”, with a source suggesting she “doesn’t want to stay in a customs union or a second referendum but recognises that we have to find compromise”. A spokesman said: “The PM is determined to deliver on the vote of the British people.”
‘This is an attempt to overturn the referendum for a clear Brexit, to do a deal with a socialist who doesn’t want Brexit and this is not in line with the Conservative manifesto’