Ministers furious at the attempt to ‘bounce’ them into second referendum
Prime Minister caused Cabinet revolt with Brexit deal proposal that offered a path to a new public vote
THERESA May triggered a fresh Cabinet revolt yesterday after explicitly laying out the path to a legally binding second referendum in her Brexit deal.
Ministers yesterday accused the Prime Minister of attempting to “bounce” her Cabinet after they read the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in full for the first time.
Several ministers, including Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Liz Truss – all potential leadership contenders – felt it went further than the Cabinet had agreed on Tuesday.
A new clause in the bill, which has been seen by The Daily Telegraph, goes as far as proposing an amendment for MPS to vote on that would trigger a second referendum.
The proposed amendment states: “That this House agrees there should be another referendum before the withdrawal bill is ratified.”
It goes on to state that it would be “provided for by an Act of Parliament”. That means that it would be legally binding.
It states: “In this section ‘another referendum’ means a referendum provided for by an Act of Parliament and additional to the referendum held on 23 June 2016 under the European Union referendum act.”
After being shown the bill in a reading room, Cabinet ministers were furious. One told The Daily Telegraph that it was a “complete disaster”, while another described it as a “catastrophe”.
Andrea Leadsom, at that point still Leader of the House of Commons, took the extraordinary step of holding a meeting of the “Pizza Club” group of ministers opposed to a customs union or second referendum during Prime Minister’s Questions.
‘The point was made to her that Labour could table amendments anyway, so why hand it to them?’
Mr Hunt, Mr Javid and David Mundell, the Scotland Secretary, asked to see the Prime Minister to raise concerns yesterday evening. She declined their request.
Ministers were particularly concerned that the bill had the potential to make a second referendum legally binding. They argued that it went far further than the Prime Minister’s commitment in Cabinet to hold a vote.
Mrs May has committed to publishing the bill on Friday.
Junior ministers also made clear to the Chief Whip yesterday that they are prepared to quit over the provision for a second referendum.
On Monday, the Prime Minister said that she recognised the “genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the House on this important issue”.
She said: “I recognise the genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the House on this important issue.
“The Government will therefore include in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at introduction a requirement to vote on whether to hold a second referendum.
“This must take place before the Withdrawal Agreement can be ratified.
“And if the House of Commons were to vote for a referendum, it would be requiring the Government to make provisions for such a referendum – including legislation if it wanted to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement.”
In Cabinet on Tuesday, Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, and Mrs Leadsom both made clear to Mrs May that the Prime Minister’s deal was “unacceptable”.
Mr Grayling, a loyalist to the Prime Minister, was particularly damning in his analysis, and it appeared to those around him that looked to be “on the edge” of quitting.
Putting the customs union and second referendum on the face of the bill, he warned, risked shattering the Conservative Party.
One source said: “The point was made to her that Labour could table amendments on these things anyway, so why hand it to them on a plate? It’s just bizarre.”