‘This used to be the Cabinet that would deliver Brexit ... now it’s not’
Ministers furious over May’s delay as Leadsom and Eurosceptics warn they could quit if exit date drifts
THERESA MAY’S Cabinet was fracturing over her plans for a Brexit delay last night after ministers told her that failure to leave the EU would mean “the end of the Conservative Party”.
One thousand days after the referendum, angry ministers turned on the Prime Minister after she refused to tell them how long an extension she intended to request from the EU, leaving some suspecting she could ask for a delay of up to two years.
Amid accusations that Mrs May has failed to get a grip of what she admits is a crisis, Eurosceptic ministers warned that a long delay would lead to a Jeremy Corbyn government and turn Britain into a “barren land” with “gulags”.
Andrea Leadsom, Liam Fox and Chris Grayling left Mrs May in no doubt that they would have to consider quitting the Cabinet if a long delay became Government policy.
With just nine days left before Britain could leave the EU without a deal, Mrs May must today write to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, specifying the length of delay she wants, and why she wants one.
Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, warned Britain to prepare for no deal unless Mrs May could come up with “something new” to explain how she will get the EU Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament.
During yesterday’s tense Cabinet meeting, Mrs Leadsom, the Leader of the House, told Mrs May she could only support a short delay of up to three months, on condition that Britain leaves with no deal at the end of June if Parliament does not back the Withdrawal Agreement by then.
“This used to be the Cabinet that would deliver Brexit – and now from what I’m hearing, it’s not,” Mrs Leadsom said.
Ministers left the meeting “none the wiser” about Mrs May’s plans, but Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, told the BBC there was “a growing risk of no Brexit”. Dr Fox, the International Trade Secretary, told Mrs May that if a long delay led to Brexit being cancelled it would mean “the end of the Conservative Party”. Tory MPS already fear the party will be “massacred” at local elections in May because of its mishandling of Brexit.
One option reportedly being considered by Mrs May was to ask for a short extension to try again to get her deal through Parliament, with the possibility of a long extension of anything between nine months and two years if the deal were rejected.
But Mr Barnier killed off the idea by saying: “It’s either one or the other, isn’t it?” He said the EU would have to consider “the reason and usefulness” of any extension, which would add to the “uncertainty” around Brexit and told Mrs May that to justify a long delay “there needs to be a new event or a new political process”.
Stressing that the EU was not guaranteed to grant an extension, he said: “Voting against no deal [in Parliament] does not prevent it happening.”
A long delay would mean Britain taking part in the European elections in May, which the Prime Minister has previously said would represent a “failure” by politicians to deliver on the Brexit referendum result. The Government has until April 11 to find a way through the Brexit deadlock before it would have to commit to the elections. Hospitals, food retailers and other providers of essential services have been told that from today they can buy space on “Brexit ferries” as part of their no-deal preparations.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that if no new date for leaving the EU has been agreed by Monday, the Government will implement its “Operation Yellowhammer” doomsday planning for a worst-case scenario no-deal exit.
In a letter to Cabinet ministers, Mr Barclay said: “Operation Yellowhammer command and control structures will be enacted fully on March 25 unless a new exit date has been agreed between the UK and the EU.”
Downing Street said Mrs May agreed with Robert Buckland, the Solicitor General, that Britain was in a “constitutional crisis” after John Bercow, the Speaker, banned a third meaningful vote on the Brexit deal.
Mrs May must table a Government motion on Monday setting out what she plans to do next. It will be amendable, giving MPS another chance to try to take control of Brexit.
Mr Buckland said it would still be possible to hold a third meaningful vote – possibly on Tuesday – by asking Parliament to first set aside the 400-year-old rule cited by Mr Bercow that the Commons cannot vote on the same motion twice in the same session.
Downing Street confirmed yesterday that Mrs May would not revoke Article 50 under any circumstances.
John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said last night that America was “ready to go” with a US-UK trade deal.
Mr Bolton told Sky News: “We can do these deals quickly. We want to partner with a newly independent Britain.”