Theresa’s final showdown

She bids to win Cabinet support for soft Brexit – as Hammond issues warning over No Deal

CABINET ministers face a showdown today over how to get Theresa May’s Brexit deal through at the fourth attempt.

Mrs May is expected to warn Ministers they may have to agree to a temporary customs union, which would hamper Britain’s ability to strike trade deals with non- EU countries, to secure enough Labour votes to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill next month.

Adding to Tory woes tonight, Philip Hammond will warn Boris Johnson and other Brexiteer party leadership candidates that they have ‘no mandate’ for No Deal.

The Chancellor will claim that leaving on October 31 without a deal amounts to ‘hijacking the result of the referendum, and in doing so, knowingly to inflict damage on our economy and our living standards’.

During the Cabinet meeting today, ministers will debate whether to allow Labour’s demand for the UK to continue to accept new EU laws on workers’ rights and environmental standards after Brexit.

Allies of the PM fear the potential concessions are so significant that Leave ministers such as Liam Fox could walk out in protest if they are approved.

But with David Davis and other Eurosceptic MPs hardening their opposition to Mrs May’s deal, some ministers believe the only option to pass the legislation is to seek Labour support.

A bruising discussion is also expected on the future of No Deal preparations in the event that Mrs May’s plans are defeated.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay is expected to warn that the Bill’s defeat would leave the UK facing the likelihood of No Deal.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid revealed yesterday that he had ordered his officials to step up preparations for No Deal.

In a speech on security he said: ‘A comprehensive and legally binding partnership on security is still our preferred option.

‘But we have also worked hard to prepare for a No Deal scenario. Contingency plans are already in place to move police and judicial co- operation on to tried and tested non-EU mechanisms such as Interpol.’

Yesterday, former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey became the first leadership candidate to make it clear she was willing to quit the EU without a deal.

She said it was ‘essential’ that Britain left as scheduled, and insisted there must be ‘ no more backsliding’, adding: ‘If it means without a deal, we’ll be out.’

Miss McVey also praised Nigel Farage, calling him a ‘tour de force’ who had ‘caught the mood of the moment’. Her fellow candidates Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom and Liz Truss are also expected to confirm they are serious about the option of No Deal if the EU refuses to budge.

In a speech to the CBI tonight, Mr Hammond will round on those who claim leaving without a deal is the only ‘legitimate Brexit’, saying: ‘On the populist Right, there are those who claim the only outcome that counts as a truly legitimate Brexit is to leave with No Deal.

‘Let me remind them – the 2016 Leave campaign was clear that we would leave with a deal.

‘So to advocate for No Deal is to hijack the result of the referendum, and in doing so, knowingly to inflict damage on our economy and living standards, because all the preparation in the world will not avoid the consequences of No Deal.’

He will warn that if MPs do not pass a deal soon, there is a ‘real risk’ of the next PM ‘abandoning the search for a deal, and shifting towards seeking a damaging No Deal exit as a matter of policy’.

Fellow Cabinet minister Amber Rudd warned yesterday against the party lurching towards ‘extremist forces’ to combat the rise of the Brexit Party. She also took a thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Johnson and others countenancing a No Deal Brexit, saying: ‘We must... take on the falsehoods that are presented as simple choices.’

Miss Rudd was speaking ahead of the launch of the One Nation Caucus group of Tory MPs, which opposes candidates who back No Deal. Sir Nicholas Soames, another founder of the 60- strong group, said Tories must resist demands from the party’s ‘lunatic fringe’.

Meanwhile, potential leadership hopefuls went head to head in a ‘Future of the Party’ debate. Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said she would ‘maybe’ run for the top job, claiming: ‘If we don’t look like a fun party, no one else is going to vote for us.’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule out running and said the Tories would be ‘toast’ if they called an election before Brexit.

Mr Raab warned that this week’s European election results would give ‘a hint of what is to come if we don’t understand what happens if you don’t keep your promises’.

Brexit minister James Cleverly told the group: ‘The time you start running in a race is just after the starting gun, not just before.’

‘No more backsliding’