The deal wreckers
Rebels and DUP round on PM BEFORE text is even published
HARDLINE Brexiteers lined up last night to tear into Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement – before it had even been shown to the Cabinet.
Minutes after an Irish television reporter tweeted that a Brexit deal had been reached in Brussels, they put into action their bid to kill it off.
Conservative MPs and the DUP immediately threatened to vote it down and warned the Prime Minister that her days were numbered.
In an unprecedented joint press conference in Parliament’s central lobby, prominent figures including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Boris Johnson and DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds paraded in front of television cameras to voice their anger.
Despite the details of the agreement still being under wraps, the Brexiteers said that reports on what was being proposed to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland were unacceptable. They called on the Cabinet to rise up to oppose it.
However, Mrs May’s opponents faced a backlash over their attempt to destroy her deal without even having seen or scrutinised it.
Tory MP Jonathan Djanogly tweeted: ‘How come all these Brexiteers are throwing their toys out of the pram before we know the deal terms. Could it be that they always intended us to jump naked off the cliff whatever the terms!’
Other Tories pleaded for restraint and for people to reserve judgment until they had read the 500-page text, rather than reacting to ‘speculation’.
Former foreign secretary Mr Johnson led the onslaught against the deal, claiming it was ‘vassal state stuff’, urging the Cabinet to ‘chuck it out’ and saying he would definitely vote against it.
He told the BBC: ‘For the first time in a thousand years, this place, this Parliament, will not have a say over the laws that govern this country. It is a quite incredible state of affairs.
‘For the first time since partition, Dublin – under these proposals – would have more say in some aspects of the government of Northern Ireland than London.
‘I don’t see how you can support it from a democratic point of view, I don’t see how Unionists can support it, and I don’t see how you can support it if you believe in the economic and political freedom of this country.’
He claimed the deal was ‘making a nonsense of Brexit so I hope the Cabinet will do the right thing and I hope they chuck it out’.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, said the reported agreement was a betrayal of Mrs May’s promise to maintain the integrity of the UK.
‘White flags have gone up all over Whitehall. It is a betrayal of the Union,’ he said.
‘If what we have heard is true, this fails to meet the Conservative Party manifesto and it fails to meet many of the commitments that the Prime Minister makes.
‘It would keep us in the customs union and de facto the single market. This is the vassal state.
‘It is a failure of the Government’s negotiating position, it is a failure to deliver on Brexit and it is potentially dividing up the United Kingdom. It is very hard to see any reason why the Cabinet should support Northern Ireland being ruled from Dublin.
‘The backstop doesn’t allow us to leave the customs union without the permission of the European Union, so it’s just a lesser ability to leave under these arrangements than we currently have.
‘That doesn’t seem to me to be wise. I hope the Cabinet will block it and I hope Parliament will block it. I think we know that this deal is deeply unsatisfactory.’
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith suggested the time may have come for Mrs May to be replaced. Asked if there would now be new party leader, he replied: ‘The party will certainly be asking questions along those lines.’
Mr Duncan Smith said he had no expectations that any ministers would resign over the deal, saying: ‘I never expect anything as Mrs Thatcher once said to a friend of mine – but it may apply to the Cabinet – “your spine does not yet meet your brain”.’
Asked if the Government’s days were numbered, he said: ‘They are in real trouble if they bring back something that is unacceptable to the party. They are trying to promote something they themselves said they would never promote.’
Mr Dodds said it would leave Northern Ireland ‘subject to the rules and laws set in Brussels with no democratic input or any say’.
Mrs May’s Tory supporters last night condemned their colleagues. Simon Hart, of the Brexit Delivery Group which is fighting to get a deal over the line in time for exit day, said: ‘Every minister and MP needs to weigh up what’s on offer, compare it with alternative outcomes and make their decision and live with the consequences.’
Former Brexit secretary David Davis said: ‘This is the moment of truth. Cabinet and all Conservative MPs should stand up, be counted and say no to this capitulation.’
‘Throwing their toys out of the pram’