Rebels ‘will not back down in fight over Brexit’
TORY BREXIT rebels will not back down in their fight with Theresa May over giving Parliament a veto on a “no-deal” Brexit if the House of Lords gives them the chance to force her hand, a former Attorney General has said.
Rebel ringleader Dominic Grieve also warned they would be prepared to reject a future Brexit deal, even if it meant collapsing the Government.
The rebels want to force through an amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill this week which could give Parliament the right to direct Britain’s approach to Brexit if it cannot agree an exit deal with Brussels.
The Bill will go to the Lords today, when peers are likely to reinsert Mr Grieve’s amendment and send it back to the Commons on Wednesday.
Asked if voting against the Government could bring it down, Mr Grieve told BBC Sunday Politics: “We could collapse the Government.
“And I can assure you I wake up at 2am in a cold sweat thinking about the problems that we have put on our shoulders.
“The difficulty is that the Brexit process is inherently risky.”
Mr Grieve said it was important for MPs to have a real say on a Brexit deal.
He said: “I can’t save the Government from getting into a situation where Parliament might disagree with it.
“The alternative is that we have all got to sign up to a slavery clause now saying whatever the Government does, when it comes to January, however potentially catastrophic it might be for my constituents, and my country, I’m signing in blood now that I will follow over the edge of the cliff.
“And that, I can tell you, I am not prepared to do.”
As peers vote on the Brexit Bill today, MPs will debate the abolition of the House of Lords after 100,000 people backed a petition supporting reform.