TREACHERY OF THE SPARTANS
Tory moderates rage at party’s hardliners whose 28 votes could have saved Mrs May’s deal ... but instead put Brexit itself in danger
HARDLINE Tory Brexit ‘ Spartans’ faced a ferocious backlash last night after they put Britain’s departure from the EU in jeopardy by refusing to vote for Theresa May’s deal.
Moderate party colleagues hit out after it emerged that the 28 rebels could have reversed the result if they had backed the Prime Minister.
Despite a number of high-profile climbdowns – including by Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dominic Raab – the 28 socalled Spartan Brexiteers held out in the Commons yesterday. They included Priti Patel, the former aid secretary, and ex-Cabinet ministers Owen Paterson, David Jones and Theresa Villiers.
The 28 were joined by six Tory remainers, making a total of 34 rebels who voted down the Brexit deal on the day Britain was supposed to leave the EU.
Had all voted in favour of Mrs May’s withdrawal agreement, it would have overturned the 58 majority who voted against.
Some Brexiteers also restated their demands for a No Deal Brexit on April 12, despite Parliament effectively ruling it out.
The self-flattering description of the hardline Brexiteers as Spartans refers to the warrior race in Ancient Greece famed for fighting to the death. Yesterday, Brexit-backing Tory MP Michael Fabricant, who decided to back the withdrawal agreement last week, said his refusenik colleagues had made a soft Brexit more likely.
He tweeted: ‘If Brexiteers think that a victory has been won, because Remainers and Labour voted down the deal, think again.
‘On Monday, the Remainer Parliament will try to keep us in the customs union, which means our obeying EU legislation and having no
‘They can’t all get their way’
say in making them. Worse than b4.’ Meanwhile, party deputy chairman James Cleverly tweeted: ‘A number of my Conservatives colleagues voted against the withdrawal agreement today.
‘Some because they want a “better” Brexit, some because they want no Brexit at all. They can’t all get their way.’
The vote on the withdrawal agreement split the hardline European Research Group (ERG) down the middle yesterday. Its chairman Jacob Rees-Mogg voted in favour of it, while his deputy Steve Baker refused, branding it a ‘rotten’ deal. Mr Rees-Mogg was asked whether he would have to step down from his role as a result of his U-turn, but vowed not to resign.
Yesterday, Mr Baker told Sky he had almost backed the deal: ‘As late as last night I was sitting in the library here writing an article on how I was going to be forced to vote for the agreement because in the Commons we’re beaten on the numbers, but I just realised I’m not going to surrender.
‘It’s a rotten deal for the UK... I concluded I’m never going to surrender to vote for this deal and this backstop.’ He also called on Mrs May to step down now, saying: ‘The Prime Minister does need to make way, I’m sorry to say.
‘She’s worked so hard to get us here whatever one may think of the deal, but she’s used up all her political capital and it is time for new leadership...’
A number of committed Brexiteers changed their mind ahead of yesterday’s vote, with Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Gareth Johnson and
Anne Main switching sides. They followed Mr Johnson, Mr Duncan Smith, Mr Rees-Mogg and former Brexit Secretary Mr Raab – who had previously quit over the deal – who all said they would now back it.
Arch Brexiteer MP Richard Drax also switched but later said he felt ‘utterly ashamed of myself’ after supporting the Prime Minister, and losing.
The failure of Parliament to vote in favour of a deal on the day Britain was supposed to Brexit prompted a huge demonstration outside Parliament yesterday.
Tory ERG member Mark Francois, who was criticised after he said he would not vote for the deal if he had a shotgun in his mouth, addressed the crowds.
He told the pro-Brexit demonstration outside Parliament: ‘There is a fighting chance that if we hold our nerve in two weeks this country will be free.’
Fellow ERG colleague Marcus Fysh claimed in a tweet that No Deal preparations were reportedly ‘ongoing and solid’.
However, the desire of the Spartans for a No Deal Brexit is likely to be unfulfilled, as Parliament has already voted against it. Former Brexit secretary Mr Raab switched his support at the last moment yesterday, saying he was voting for the deal to prevent a longer extension.
He posted on Twitter yesterday: ‘ We need to proceed with realism. The choice now is between the risk of the EU trapping us in the backstop for a period, and a significant risk of losing Brexit altogether. Neither are palatable.
‘On that basis, I will vote for today’s motion: to stave off a longer extension and prevent MEP elections being held in the UK – in the hope that the Government can more vigorously pursue the reassurances required to make this deal acceptable.’ The day before the result, Tory moderates had rounded on their hardline colleagues, demanding they be suspended for not falling into line.
Some in the party accused them of ‘stabbing Theresa in the back’ while others branded them a ‘ band of jokers’. Many were particularly angered by the intervention from Mr Francois, who said of the deal: ‘I’ve always been against it, I’m still against it. I told my whip yesterday I wouldn’t vote for it if they put a shotgun in my mouth.’
In response, the minister for suicide prevention urged politicians to tone down their language. Conservative MP Andrew Percy said: ‘It is now time the Government got tougher and made clear that any Tory MP who now opposes the Prime Minister’s deal – which is the only one the EU will accept – will have the whip withdrawn.
‘ Their self- indulgence is pathetic and frankly your average five-year- old shows more maturity and common sense than this band of jokers.’
‘Self-indulgence is pathetic’