May says Chequers blueprint ‘the right Brexit’

PM facing Leave outrage over plan for close EU ties

PRIME MINISTER Theresa May will insist her plan for close trade ties with the European Union on goods is “the right Brexit” as she faces down backbench Tory Leavers who have suggested they could seek to oust her.

All members of the Cabinet signed up to the proposals, which will see the UK tied to EU rules on goods, at Chequers on Friday.

But backbench Brexiteers have hit out at the plans, with speculation rife that some could be prepared to submit formal letters calling for a leadership contest.

The Prime Minister will make a Commons statement today before facing Tories at what promises to be a stormy meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee.

Mrs May will insist in her statement: “In the two years since the referendum result we have had a spirited national debate, with robust views echoing round the Cabinet table as they have on breakfast tables up and down our country. Over that time, I have listened to every possible idea and every possible version of Brexit. This is the right Brexit.”

The deal could come under the microscope when United States president Donald Trump lands in the UK on Thursday, as it would appear to make it harder to strike a wide-ranging free-trade deal with America, which has lower goods standards than the EU in many areas.

But Mrs May will insist critics are “wrong” to suggest the UK will not be able to strike trade deals, stressing the Government will have “regulatory flexibility” in areas of strength like digital and services while still retaining freedom to set tariffs on goods.

“We will be able to pursue trade agreements with key partners, such as the US, Australia and New Zealand,” she will say. One Eurosceptic source told

The Yorkshire Post Mrs May would now face “guerilla warfare”.

But others have said they would wait to see more detail, with Chief Whip Julian Smith and Mrs May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell holding briefings for colleagues, before deciding whether to call for a leadership battle.

Brexiteer Cabinet Minister Michael Gove yesterday admitted the plan was not everything he had hoped for, but said he was a “realist” who recognised that “parliamentary arithmetic” was a factor in agreeing a way forward.

But Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen added: “If she sticks with this deal I would have no confidence in it, and if the Prime Minister sticks with this deal I would have no confidence in her.”

Over two years I have listened to every possible idea on Brexit.

Prime Minister Theresa May defends her plans for closer trade ties with Europe.

THERESA MAY isn’t just negotiating with her own Cabinet – and the EU – when it comes to Brexit. She’s also playing for high political stakes with her more Eurosceptic backbenchers who have the power to block any plan and, potentially, bring down the Government.

Yet, as the Prime Minister begins work today selling her new plan to her own MPs, her task is helped by the apparent Cabinet truce after Friday’s all-day meeting at Chequers when prominent Brexiteers agreed to key concessions to safeguard the country’s business interests.

To use footballing parlance, Mrs May is taking it one game at a time. She secured the authority to trigger Article 50; the European Withdrawal Bill is now enshrined in law and the PM now has a realistic framework which can be put to the EU. Some thought none of these steps would be possible.

Unlike diehard Brexiteers like Jacob Rees-Mogg and Andrea Jenkyns, the outspoken Morley and Outwood MP who is clearly contemplating signing a letter that could trigger a leadership contest, Mrs May has to deal with day-to-day practicalities and is trying to protect the national interest.

Perhaps they should take their lead from prominent Leave campaigner Michael Gove. Though the Environment Secretary conceded that it was not the deal that he envisaged, he did say that “we need to have a united Cabinet” before stressing the importance of collective responsibility now that Ministers have reached agreement.

A nod to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who is being accused by some of surrendering his principles. Britain’s relationship with first the EEC, and then the EU, has evolved since 1973 and this strategy heralds a new chapter in the relationship. However, the consequences could be far-reaching, both politically and economically, if Brexiteers continue to make unreasonable demands – and Labour Shadow Ministers continue to nitpick from the sidelines when their own position mirrors Mrs May’s stance. That much is still clear.