KEY CABINET BRETEER: I'M BACKING MAY'S DEAL
EXCLUSIVE: Leadsom delivers huge boost for the PM
Theresa May’s Brexit plan won crucial support last night from a senior Cabinet eurosceptic.
In a key intervention, Andrea Leadsom said she was backing the withdrawal agreement struck with Brussels because it ‘delivered’ on the referendum result.
She warned its defeat on December 11 could put Brexit at risk.
Mrs Leadsom, who is Leader of the House of Commons, admitted she had reservations about the agreement, fearing the UK could be ‘trapped’ in the Northern Ireland backstop. But she said it still offered the route to a good future relationship and was the only deal on the table.
The comments – her first intervention since the plan was approved by EU leaders on Sunday – were published in a letter to constituents last night.
It came as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell appeared to shift Labour closer to backing a second referendum, saying this looked inevitable if Mrs May lost the ‘meaningful’ vote.
Mark Carney further electrified the debate by issuing a dramatic warning about the risks of leaving without a deal. The Bank of England governor said
it could trigger the worst recession in 100 years, put a million people on the dole, spark a run on the pound and cause a 30 per cent crash in house prices.
Hours earlier the Treasury published an analysis suggesting no deal could deliver a £200billion hit to the economy over 15 years – equivalent to £3,000 a head. In other developments: Mrs May warned MPs they risk ‘chaos and uncertainty’ if they reject her plan on December 11;
Chemicals giant Ineos and aerospace firm Airbus publicly backed the Prime Minister’s strategy;
Mr Hammond left the door open to the Government adopting a soft Norway-style Brexit, which would preserve free movement;
John Bercow warned ministers could be found in ‘contempt of parliament’ over their refusal to publish full legal advice on the deal;
Mrs May brushed aside a plea from Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon to take part in a televised Brexit TV debate;
MPs will be able to put down six amendments to the Government’s key Brexit motion.
Mrs Leadsom’s intervention is important because she has been seen as one of the most likely to quit the Cabinet over Mrs May’s plans. She has also been named as a member of the ‘pizza club’ of Cabinet Brexiteers, who are said to have been meeting in private to discuss their response to the withdrawal agreement.
In her letter to her South Northamptonshire constituents, Mrs Leadsom wrote: ‘We have to make sure that nothing happens that can stop Brexit. This has been a challenging journey for many of us, and compromises had to be made on both sides.
‘However, two things are certain – first, that this is the only deal on the table, and second, that it means we will leave on 29th March 2019.
‘I believe the political declaration offers the route to a good future relationship, and therefore my conclusion is that I must support the deal, and our Prime Minister.’
The endorsement by Mrs Leadsom, who finished second in the Tory leadership contest in 2016, will be welcomed in Downing Street.
Aides will hope it proves a turning point in efforts to swing the dozens of Brexiteer Tory MPs who have said they will vote against the withdrawal agreement. one of them, Chris Davies, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, said yesterday he would vote with the Government.
‘As a Brexit supporter I believe we have no alternative but to accept, with all its misgivings, this Brexit deal, for the sake of the country,’ he wrote on Facebook. Commons Speaker John Bercow will select the amendments to be debated by MPs.
They will be heard ahead of the scheduled December 11 vote on the Government’s motion backing Mrs May’s plan. The Commons will debate the EU agreement on December 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 under business proposals set out by the Government.
An official analysis warned last night that foreign criminals and terrorists will find it easier to sneak into the UK if there is a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Police, border officials and the security services would be unable to check crucial EU crime-fighting databases, the Government paper claimed.
Separately, Professor Malcolm Chalmers, of the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, said that proposed security arrangements ‘hold out the possibility of close cooperation’. But he added: ‘In order to maintain close-toexisting levels of operational cooperation, the UK will have to become a rule-taker.’