PM: Keep your eyes on the prize eyes on the prize
May’s rallying cry to MPs as she bids to quell plotters’ revolt over Brexit plan
‘Great opportunities that we can open up’
THERESA May has urged Tory MPs to ‘focus on the prize’ as she tries to quell rebellion over her Brexit plans.
In an attempt to shore up support, the Prime Minister yesterday set out a four-point plan on how to break the deadlock in negotiations.
She promised that any transition period as the UK leaves the EU would be over ‘well before’ the next election, which is due in 2022. An extension would be an alternative to the Northern Ireland ‘backstop’, she said, which is intended to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.
Mrs May has faced a furious backlash from hardliners since it emerged she discussed the idea of extending the transition period with EU leaders last week – with some claiming the row could topple her premiership.
But Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said those seeking a vote of no-confidence risk seeing Britain leave the EU without a deal. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘This is really a moment for calm, level heads. We have got to get through the last bit of negotiation.
‘There will be a vote in Parliament that follows. The reality is that, if the deal on offer is something that can’t get through Parliament, we will end up in a no-deal situation, so it is in everyone’s interest, the EU and us, to make sure that what we agree is something that both sides can accept.’
Yesterday Mrs May insisted the final sticking points in negotiations with Brussels could not become a barrier to getting a good Brexit deal.
She told MPs in the Commons: ‘Serving our national interest will demand that we hold our nerve through these last stages of the negotiations, the hardest part of all.
‘It will mean not giving in to those who want to stop Brexit with a “politicians’ vote” – politicians telling the people they got it wrong the first time.
‘It will mean focusing on the prize that lies before us: the great opportunities that we can open up for our country when we clear these final hurdles in the negotiations.’
She added that four things were needed to move talks forward, including making the option of a UK-wide customs backstop legally binding.
The Prime Minister said extending the transition period should be available as an alternative, with the UK able to make a ‘sovereign choice’ over which one was used if a trade deal was not ready by December 2020. She said that were either of these ‘insurance policies’ needed, they could not be infinite.
Finally, she said there had to be a commitment to ensure continued full access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the whole of the UK internal market. Tory former Cabinet Minister John Redwood claimed extending the transition period – which is set to last 21 months from when the UK leaves the EU in March – could cost the UK up to £20billion on top of the £39billion divorce bill. Warning that Britain must not sign a ‘surrender document’, he told the Commons: ‘We are desperately in need of more money for our schools, for our hospitals. ‘ We desperately need money so we can honour our tax cutting pledges which we all made in our manifesto. The economy has been slowed deliberately by a fiscal and monetary squeeze which we need to lift.
‘We need tax cuts to raise people’s take home pay so that they have more spending power. All this is possible if we don’t give £39billion to the EU, and all this would be even more possible if we don’t pledge another £15billion or £20billion.’ It is expected to be a tough week for the Prime Minister. Some observers have speculated that the number of Tories calling for her removal may reach 48 – the figure needed to trigger a vote of no-confidence.
Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, last night said the ballot would take place within days if the threshold is met.
He told the Mail that the rules say a ballot must be ‘organised as soon as is reasonably practical’, adding: ‘I think the strong sense of it is to do it quickly,’ he added. Under Tory rules, if the leader fails to get support from a majority of MPs, he or she resigns and cannot stand in the subsequent leadership contest.
However, if they win, they are protected from facing another challenge for a year.
There was some respite for the Prime Minister yesterday as leading Tory Brexiteer Steve Baker said he was withdrawing amendments to the Northern Ireland Bill intended to prevent the backstop being implemented.