Tories face ‘existential threat’

MPS warn May that delaying Brexit for EU elections will bring the party catastrophe

THERESA MAY has been warned that holding European elections will pose an “existential threat” to the Conservative Party, after she asked the EU to delay Brexit until June 30.

The Prime Minister has told the Tories to prepare to take part in the poll on May 23, prompting a furious response from activists who may now refuse to campaign for candidates.

Senior MPS said the Conservatives would suffer “catastrophic” damage at both the local elections on May 2 and the EU elections, if they went ahead, which would threaten the “viability” of the party itself.

Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, told Mrs May in a heated Downing Street meeting “we need to get out” of the EU as he implored her to avoid the European elections, which Britain must hold if Brexit is delayed beyond next week, but his pleas were ignored.

There are also fears that the EU will try to force through a year-long extension to Article 50, meaning Britain would still be in Europe almost four years after voting to leave.

Eurosceptic MPS said Mrs May had to refuse any such offer when she attends an emergency European Council summit on Wednesday, and should instead be prepared to walk away in a no-deal Brexit. If she does not, she will have just “days” left as Prime Minister, they claimed. It came as Mrs May’s talks with Jeremy Corbyn over a crossparty deal broke down, with Labour accusing the Government of refusing to make any form of compromise.

The talks are expected to resume over the weekend, but appear doomed to failure unless Mrs May significantly shifts her position.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said Mrs May should end the talks with Mr Corbyn and “get on a plane” to ask European leaders for lastminute concessions on her existing Brexit deal that could command support from Tory Brexiteers and the DUP.

Mrs May wrote to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, yesterday requesting an extension of Article 50 until June 30, with an option to leave earlier if Parliament agreed a deal.

She said that the Government would “make responsible preparations to hold the [European Parliament] elections” but hoped to avoid taking part in them by reaching a deal quickly.

Nigel Evans, executive secretary of the 1922 Committee, said taking part in the elections could threaten the future of the Conservative Party because Leave voters would never forgive such a betrayal. He said: “This is an existential threat to the Conservative Party. We

have all seen the cut-up membership cards on social media. No-one will believe anything said in a manifesto we put out.”

Matthew Evans, the defeated Tory candidate in Thursday’s Newport byelection, in which Labour and the Conservatives both suffered reduced votes in the face of strong Ukip support, said he had “never seen such anger” among voters as he did over Brexit.

Writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, the political scientist Matthew Goodwin warns Mrs May that “there is no law that political parties must last forever”, adding: “At no other point in Britain’s post-war period has the Conservative Party looked so vulnerable.”

Jacob Rees-mogg, the leader of the European Research Group of Conservative Eurosceptics, said that if European elections went ahead, the Ukip adviser Tommy Robinson, a former leader of the far-right English Defence League, would be elected “and that would create circumstances where extremism would prosper. That would be damaging to the Conservative Party and damaging to the EU”.

Steve Baker, the ERG’S deputy leader, said: “This is catastrophically damaging to the Conservative Party. MPS and members are absolutely aghast.

“We will take a terrible punishment beating from the electorate if we take part in the European elections. It would further damage our ability to govern.”

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, said: “The United Kingdom fighting European elections almost three years after a clear majority voted to leave the EU sums up the disorganised and slapdash approach taken to negotiations by the Prime Minister.”

Tory MPS warned that the party’s MEPS would be “swept away” because of the level of anger with Mrs May’s handling of Brexit, and grassroots activists would almost certainly refuse to campaign. Peter Bone said: “It is crazy. We voted to come out in June 2016 and the only reason we are not out is because of Mrs May – and the activists are furious. We have some very good MEPS in my area but I fear they will be swept away because of the feeling against Mrs May’s Government.

“It is difficult to get people to campaign on European elections anyway but given the background, I fear it will be exceptionally difficult.”

Marcus Fysh echoed a similar sentiment, saying that “local Conservative parties will not be working to get Conservatives elected under the circumstances”.

Mrs May asked for a June 30 extension at the last European Council in March, but was turned down flat by EU leaders who imposed their own deadlines. Eurosceptics fear the same will happen next week after Mr Tusk said he was in favour of a one-year “flextension” which could be cut short if MPS ratified a Withdrawal Agreement.

Brexiteers were last night using a Whatsapp messaging group to plot how to bring down Mrs May if she accepts a long extension next week.

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, has told them that if they write to him in large numbers calling on Mrs May to go, he will make her aware of the numbers and the content, even though backbenchers cannot trigger a no-confidence vote in her until December, after she survived such a vote at the end of last year.

They believe that if a simple majority of Tory MPS call for Mrs May to go, she will have to step down.

Mr Evans said: “If she accepts a long extension next Wednesday she will have just days left.”

In her letter to Mr Tusk, Mrs May conceded that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be re-opened, so that any extension period will not allow for a renegotiation of the Irish backstop.