Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Start of the end game for the PM
PM facing axe as rebels vow to kill deal.. with Labour poised to step in
A BROLLY might have kept the rain off Theresa May yesterday, but she can expect little shelter from the storm that will batter her if she loses tomorrow’s Brexit vote.
The PM was last night clinging to power and admitted she fears the fall of her government this week as she faces a humiliating Commons defeat.
Labour were poised to seize the reins if she is ousted or quits and her own cronies, including Boris Johnson and Esther Mcvey, are lining up to topple her.
More than 100 Tory MPS have publicly said they will not back the Brexit deal Mrs May agreed with the EU and she is braced for more resignations in the final crucial hours before the historic vote.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson’s ministerial aide Will Quince became the latest to quit over the agreement, which critics fear will leave Britain tied to European rules without a say on them.
And rebel Tories hinted they are not far off reaching the 48 letters from MPS needed to trigger a no-confidence vote in the PM.
The DUP warned it is “determined” to defeat her deal, which may affect whether it still props up her Government.
Mrs May made a desperate last-ditch appeal for MPS to back her to avoid “handing Labour the keys to No10”. After going to church in the rain, she said: “This is what I genuinely believe and fear could happen.” But Jeremy Corbyn said: “This deal is ridiculous. It’s not going to work. Everybody knows that. It’s going to be defeated, I hope. At that point they’ve got to go back [to the EU], negotiate something that is acceptable, which does protect rights
This deal is ridiculous. It’s not going to work. Everybody knows that JEREMY CORBYN LABOUR LEADER ON MRS MAY’S BREXIT
and conditions, which does give us that trade access, or they’ve got to get out of the way, have an election so that it will be a government here that will be serious about those negotiations.”
Labour has refused to say if it would trigger a confidence vote if the deal is voted down to avoid encouraging divided Tories to pull together.
But Shadow cabinet office minister Jon Trickett insisted the party was ready to take over should the Government fall. He said: “Our preferred option, very, very strongly, is that we refresh the Parliament though we are ready to form a minority government, and it could happen on Wednesday morning, and to begin to reset the negotiation and take the country forward in a better direction.”
Former Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson, ex-work and Pensions Secretary Ms Mcvey and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab all took to the airwaves yesterday to make their cases for taking over if Mrs May is booted out.
Mr Johnson refused to rule out standing against the Prime Minister.
Leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-mogg suggested Mr Johnson and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd could work side-by-side in a unity leadership team. Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt have also been touted as a joint ticket.
Defence minister Tobias Ellwood yesterday hinted he could back a second referendum if the deal fails.
He said: “We must recognise the original mandate to leave, taken over two years ago, will begin to date and will, eventually, no longer represent a reflection of current intent.”
But former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith warned there would be street riots like in France if that happened.
He said: “There’s a very large chunk of people who will feel utterly betrayed and very angry. I caution you, look across the Channel. We are not that far away from that kind of process.”
In a bid to win over Brexiteer Tories, No10 has pledged more funding for the fishing industry.