It’s seldom been more vital for MPs to stand f irm behind our PM

THERE can be no doubt that the leaders of the European Union draw strength from the public statements of militant Remainers. It is only natural that they should do so.

If your opponent in negotiations presents a divided front, and is beset by critics undermining his authority and the unity of his cause, you will naturally drive a harder bargain and offer fewer concessions.

Anybody with experience of business or diplomacy, or any other area where two sides bargain hard for the best possible deal, must know this.

So what are we to make of those in British politics who currently seek to undermine and frustrate the Prime Minister’s efforts to shift the EU from its present obdurate position?

Boris Johnson, in a refreshing change f rom t he t i red and uncertain approach of the previous Government, made it plain from the moment he set foot in Downing Street that he would not blink. Either there would be a new and better deal, a perfectly reasonable possibility, or we would leave the EU anyway.

He immediately strengthened preparations for a departure without a deal, a strong and sensible negotiating stance showing that he meant business.

And the EU must have begun to wonder if they were at last up against someone who would not let them walk all over him.

But within hours, diehard Remainers began to formulate plans to remove Mr Johnson from office, plans so hectic and desperate that they seriously suggested the elevation of Jeremy Corbyn to Downing Street as a caretaker.

There is no doubt that, in the major capitals of the EU, these miserable manoeuvres have encouraged President Macron and Chancellor Merkel, and the whole Brussels apparatus, to toughen their stance.

There are a lot of very rude words that could be used about those now undermining the Prime Minister, but The Mail on Sunday believes that our national debate needs to stay on the right side of civility, for the sake of our democracy and our constitution. We have stood for sensible compromise and above all for abiding by the will of the voters. That is why we repeatedly urged Parliament to accept Mrs May’s departure deal, for all its many flaws.

Even so, we can say it is extraordinarily arrogant of figures such as Philip Hammond to continue to behave as they have been. What do they think gives them the right to frustrate a national policy agreed by a popular majority? Mr Hammond, when he was still in office, spectacularly failed to make serious, timely preparations for a No Deal exit. Mr Johnson’s opponents will say if challenged that they fear a No Deal exit. But deep down, they oppose Britain leaving the EU at all, on any terms. They are just afraid to say so.

When David Cameron put the issue to the people – a move endorsed by Parliament – he promised to implement what the people decided.

As soon as the majority for Brexit was declared, it was no longer defensible for elected MPs to seek to frustrate the will of the electorate.

Many seemed to understand this immediately after the referendum, but have now let their personal passions or ambitions get the better of them. This is straightforwardly wrong, especially during key negotiations with a foreign power.

It has seldom been more vital for MPs to maintain a united front, on behalf of their country and f oursquare behind our Prime Minister. Those who now fail to do so will not readily be forgiven if things go wrong.