Brexit vote ‘could be delayed’
She holds crisis talks with Tusk – but is poised to delay key vote
THERESA May held last-ditch talks with European Council president Donald Tusk last night amid speculation she could delay the crucial vote on her Brexit deal.
Only 48 hours before the crunch vote is due, the pair spoke on the phone about the PM’s struggle to get her deal through the Commons.
She will consult colleagues today before taking a decision on whether to go ahead with tomorrow’s vote.
It came as Boris Johnson made a thinly veiled pitch for the leadership as he publicly savaged Mrs May’s Brexit deal, stating he was ready to take ‘responsibility’.
And in another day of political manoeuvring, it emerged that Labour claims it is ready to try to form a minority government as early as Wednesday morning if the Government collapses.
THERESA May was on the brink of delaying the vote on her Brexit deal last night as she held talks with European Council president Donald Tusk in an apparent final bid to secure concessions from Brussels.
The Prime Minister is due to consult with the Government’s chief whip and senior colleagues this morning before taking a final decision on whether to go ahead with tomorrow’s vote.
But, amid warnings that she faces a humiliating defeat, it is understood she is now most likely to delay and head back to the Brussels in hope of a better deal. Dozens of Tories have told her they will not back any agreement which does not include a time limit on the controversial Irish backstop or a mechanism to allow Britain to leave the EU unilaterally.
On the eve of what is set to be the most dramatic week yet in the Brexit process:
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn left the door wide open to backing another Brexit referendum and said there should be an option to Remain;
senior Labour figure suggested that the party could try to run a minority government if Mrs May’s administration falls this week;
Boris Johnson, sporting a new hairstyle, warned the PM’s Brexit deal left the UK open to ‘blackmail’ by Brussels – and stated he was ready to take ‘responsibility’;
Esther McVey suggested she may consider running for leader if her colleagues ask her to step up.
Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said the deal could still be ‘remedied’ if the EU is willing to look again at the backstop issue;
The European Court of Justice looked set to rule that the UK can cancel Brexit by revoking Article 50;
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith suggested that Britain could be plunged into Paris-style riots if Remain supporters get their second referendum.
No 10 had hoped to shift the mood of MPs before tomorrow’s vote on the Withdrawal Agreement. However, it appeared clear last night that few had changed their minds and that without further changes the Government is heading for a heavy defeat.
At the same time, Downing Street fears that pushing ahead with the vote could lead to more letters of no-confidence in the Prime Minister from Tory MPs. If the number reaches 48, a vote about Mrs May’s leadership would follow.
Yesterday she spoke to Mrs Tusk in an apparent bid to see if the EU might provide fresh concessions at a summit later this week.
Although Downing Street claimed the conversation was routine, the most likely outcome is for Mrs May to delay the vote, travel to Brussels and attempt to win a new pledge on the backstop.
Last night Mr Tusk tweeted: ‘I had a phone call with PM Theresa May. It will be an important week for the fate of Brexit.’
Yesterday senior Eurosceptics effectively began pitching for Mrs May’s job, with former ministers Mr Johnson and Miss McVey urging the PM to go back to Brussels and secure a better deal.
Stephen Barclay, the new Brexit Secretary, insisted the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement was ‘100 per cent’ going to take place tomorrow – a message echoed publicly by Downing Street.
A final decision will not be taken until this morning. However, last night it appeared that the numbers looked too bleak for No 10 to proceed. There are fears the PM could be forced out if the scale of the defeat is too big.
Mrs May spoke with Mr Tusk yesterday amid signs that Downing Street hopes it can secure a concession on the backstop at an EU summit later this week that might win Tory rebels round. The Withdrawal Agreement vote could then be held next week instead.
European officials confirmed that ‘Prime Minister May updated Mr Tusk on the UK ratification process’ – that is on her chances of getting the vote through Parliament.
EU sources refused to be drawn on whether the PM gave Mr Tusk any indication as to whether the Commons vote would still be going ahead on Tuesday.
Brussels had hoped Mrs May would get the deal past MPs and that this week’s summit would be less about Brexit and more about migration, security and Eurozone reform as a result. One EU diplomat said last night: ‘We now assume that this summit will be mainly about Brexit. We clearly see from here that the possibility of getting this deal through on Tuesday is not very high.’
However, in a blow to Mrs May, another diplomat said the idea of changing the Withdrawal Agreement at this stage and the wording of the Irish backstop was ‘unimaginable’. They scoffed at Mr Johnson’s suggestion that removing the backstop arrangement from the divorce deal was a ‘relatively simple job to do’.
The diplomat said: ‘Its unimaginable that Boris Johnson really thinks it’s so easy to come back to Brussels just to reopen the issue of the backstop. Reopening already finished text is not very likely.’
Mrs May used an article at the weekend to warn Tory MPs they risk handing Mr Corbyn the keys to No 10 unless they back her Brexit deal. And a Government source said defeat for the PM would lead to a softer Brexit or no Brexit at all. Mr Corbyn told ITV News: ‘This deal is ridiculous. It’s not going to work. Everybody knows that. It’s going to be defeated, I hope, on Tuesday.’
‘Crucial week for the fate of Brexit’