AMBUSH! Coalition of grandees plot to trip up PM on Brexit vote
REBEL Tory MPs are plotting to ambush Theresa May before a crunch summit in Brussels next month by inflicting a Commons defeat on a key plank of her Brexit policy, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
The plan, to force an immediate debate on her intention to leave the customs union, has been hatched by grandees of the Select Committee system in defiance of Downing Street’s attempt to block MPs from voting – because they fear it could topple the Government.
The revolt follows last week’s meeting of Mrs May’s Brexit ‘war Cabinet’ at her Chequers country estate, which agreed that Britain would try to negotiate a process of ‘ managed divergence’ from EU rules after leaving the single market and customs union – then hope to strike a trade deal. The EU has given the UK a deadline of midMarch to set out our position at a summit of EU leaders.
But last night the Prime Minister – who will outline her Brexit vision in a landmark speech on Friday – was under pressure on multiple fronts as:
Brussels warned that the Chequers strategy would be flatly rejected by the EU and urged Mrs May to ignore the demands of her hardline backbenchers, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg. One senior EU official said: ‘There is clearly no Commons majority for a Mogg Brexit.’
The Cabinet’s Brexiteers were said to be split over the Chequers deal, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson privately declaring ‘victory’ – but Environment Secretary Michael Gove expressing scepticism that it would be accepted;
A defiant Mrs May declared that Britain’s ‘best days lie ahead of us’, as her full Cabinet prepared to meet twice this week ahead of the speech;
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told colleagues that Labour should back staying in the customs union as the ‘best chance’ to trigger an early Election. No.10 was thrown into a panic last week after a cross-party amendment to the Trade Bill was put down, which would have bound Mrs May to stay in the customs union – at a time when she was negotiating to leave it.
If she had lost the vote, Mrs May’s Government could have collapsed – and after Tory whips told Downing Street that they were not confident of winning, votes on the Bill were delayed until May.
But now the Commons Liaison Committee, comprising all 35 chairs of the Select Committees, intends to use its power to carve out Parliamentary time for a vote as ‘soon as possible’.
Tory MP Nicky Morgan, the proRemain chairman of the Treasury committee, has joined forces with Labour’s Yvette Cooper, chairman of the Home Affairs committee, and Rachel Reeves, chairman of the Business Committee, to put down the motion.
Other pro-Remain Tory MPs on t he l i aison committee i nclude Sarah Wollaston, Bob Neill and Tom Tugendhat.
And though – unlike the Trade Bill amendment – the vote would not be formally binding, friends of Mrs Morgan said it was ‘vital to send a message to Brussels that the Commons does not support leaving the customs union’. Such a vote could embolden EU negotiators, who would be reluctant to agree a deal that would only be thrown out by British MPs later.
Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who has joined forces with Tory MPs including Anna Soubry and Jonathan Djanogly to push for a vote on the customs union, said: ‘It is undemocratic for the Prime Minister to put off a vote. She has no majority for taking us out of the EU customs union but continues to negotiate as if she has one.
‘ If she delays these important votes, we will seek to instigate a vote from the backbenches to illustrate Parliament’s position on this issue.’
The Chequers meeting was designed to bridge the gap between the Brexiteers, led by Mr Gove and Mr Johnson, who are in favour of diverging from Brussels rules after Brexit, and the Remainers led by Mr Hammond, who want to limit any rule changes.
Sources present at Chequers said the Cabinet agreed that the rules we follow after leaving will remain ‘substantially similar’ to the EU’s regulations. Divergence would then be overseen by a trans- national committee split equally between EU and UK members.
The sources said that while Mr Johnson regarded this as a triumph, his fellow Brexit campaigner Mr Gove was more doubtful that the ‘cherry-picking’ position would be accepted by Brussels – a view shared by Mr Hammond.
And yesterday, Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Parliament’s Brexit negotiator, was scathing about the Chequers deal, telling The Mail on
‘There is no majority for a Mogg Brexit’
Sunday: ‘The plan appears to be one to keep the Tory party together rather than a realistic negotiating position. Selectively picking which EU rules to follow, while seeking a competitive advantage by lowering standards i n other areas, will be rejected.’
A source close to Mr Verhofstadt, referring to the Commons pressure for a vote on the customs union, added: ‘There is clearly no majority for a Mogg Brexit.’
In a highly unusual move, the Cabinet will meet twice this week – on Tuesday, for a general discussion, and again on Thursday to hammer out the final unified position prior to Friday’s speech.
But last night Mrs May struck an upbeat, patriotic note, saying that the Brexit deal ‘must present an ambitious future for our great country’.
She added: ‘ The decisions we make now will shape this country for a generation. If we get them right, Brexit will be the beginning of a bright new chapter in our national story, and our best days really do lie ahead of us.’
Former Tory Cabinet Minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi added to the sense of chaos by claiming that the country had been left up ‘s**t creek’ by Brexit.
Baroness Warsi said: ‘I find this really depressing... we are shimmying up a creek without a paddle.... We have a leader of our party who is a Remainer, who is leading a whole load of people who are Leavers. That is the political landscape we are dealing with.’