PM to hold 4th and final vote on Brexit deal in June

... as she makes last-ditch offer to Corbyn in bid to break deadlock

THERESA May last night made a ‘final offer’ to Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit, as she bowed to Cabinet demands to accelerate efforts to take Britain out of the EU.

In a high risk move, Mrs May told the Cabinet that she would finally bring forward the Withdrawal Agreement Bill legislation in the week beginning June 3 – with or without a deal with Labour – in the hope of getting a version of her deal through Parliament at the fourth attempt.

That is the same week that President Trump is due to make a three-day state visit to the UK.

Allies of Mrs May last night denied that she was setting out a timetable for her departure from No 10 in the summer. But the vote is likely to determine her political future.

She is expected to tell Tory grandees tomorrow that she is prepared to step aside at the end of July if her deal has gone through. But senior Tories believe that she could not survive her deal being rejected by MPs for a fourth time.

Downing Street said the Cabinet agreed it was now ‘imperative’ that the legislation is passed before Parliament breaks up for the summer at the end of July – meaning it will be brought forward with or without a deal with Labour.

The new deadline is a significant concession to Brexiteer cabinet ministers, led by Andrea Leadsom. Arriving at Cabinet yesterday, Mrs Leadsom said: ‘We’ve got to get on with Brexit … so whatever that takes, we have to deliver Brexit urgently’.

After weeks of deadlock, Mrs May surprised Westminster by requesting a face-to-face meeting with the Labour leader last night to decide whether there is any prospect of the two sides agreeing a soft Brexit compromise.

The PM told Mr Corbyn that the timetable set a two-week deadline on the cross-party talks that have limped on for six weeks. Earlier, Mrs May briefed the Cabinet on the concessions she was willing to offer in return for Mr Corbyn’s support in getting her Brexit deal through Parliament.

Sources said Mrs May indicated she was prepared to agree a temporary ‘customs arrangement’ that would see Britain remain in the customs union in all but name until the next election. She also warned ministers that she was willing to sign a deal that would see the UK’s labour laws and environmental standards in lock step with the EU after Brexit.

Pressure yesterday intensified on Mrs May to abandon talks with Labour’s hard-Left leader. Former defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon described the talks as ‘a blind alley taking us into a customs union’ which would be worse than staying in the EU.

In an ominous development, the Tories’ backbench shop steward Sir Graham Brady joined 13 former cabinet ministers in warning that a deal with Labour would ‘split our party’ and create such division that it would probably fail to gain a majority. It came as:

Former Tory minister Crispin Blunt said the Conservatives would ‘almost certainly’ have to sign an electoral pact with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party to survive the next election;

Tory sources blamed the shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer for ‘undermining’ the cross-party talks by pushing for a second referendum in order to burnish his own leadership prospects;

Jeremy Hunt warned that both main parties would be ‘crucified’ by voters if they failed to deliver on the 2016 referendum result;

The Government’s chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins prepared to open talks with the EU today on whether some of Labour’s demands could be added to the deal agreed with Mrs May last year;

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell performed a U-turn on calls for a second referendum, saying that the option to remain in the EU should be on the ballot – six months after he said that would fail to ‘respect the last referendum’;

An opinion poll gave Labour a nine-point lead over the Conservatives, potentially putting Mr Corbyn on track for No 10 at the head of a coalition government.

At a three-hour Cabinet meeting Mrs May said the public wanted politicians to reach a compromise. She said the Tories had to resist calls to follow Mr Farage in pursuing a No Deal Brexit, saying: ‘We can’t give in to absolutism.’

But Mr Hunt, who is among the favourites to succeed Mrs May, said the decision to take No Deal off the table in March had undermined negotiations, allowing the EU to not be ‘as flexible as they might otherwise have been’.

Senior Tories believe that Mr Corbyn and his closest allies are interested in striking a deal that would allow him to portray himself as a statesman. But one Tory source said: ‘It’s as clear as day that Starmer is trying to position himself as the hero of Remain in order to take over from Corbyn.’

A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘This evening the Prime Minister met the Leader of the Opposition to make clear our determination to bring the talks to a conclusion and deliver on the referendum result to leave the EU.

‘We will therefore be bringing forward the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in the week beginning the June 3.’

‘We can’t give in to absolutism’