Plot to oust May nears tipping point as MPs’ rebellion grows
Zac Goldsmith sends letter of no confidence as Suella Braverman says ministers were hoodwinked
THE campaign to unseat Theresa May neared tipping point last night as the Conservatives’ former London mayoral candidate called on the Prime Minister to resign and a former Brexit minister told how members of the Government were hoodwinked over her deal.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph,
Zac Goldsmith, a Brexiteer, says he would have voted Remain rather than choose Mrs May’s plan and that her departure will “give us the chance of a fresh start”.
This newspaper was separately told that Sir Bill Cash, the veteran Eurosceptic, had also submitted a formal declaration of no confidence in the Prime Minister. He declined to comment, saying the process was confidential. But the additional two MPs would bring to 25 the total known to have requested a vote on Mrs May’s leadership, out of a total of 48 required.
Today, Suella Braverman, who quit the Brexit Department along with her boss, Dominic Raab, last week, reveals that the draft Withdrawal Agreement issued by Downing Street contains clauses the pair had never previously seen and says the document will be seen for generations as a betrayal.
“It has been forged, not by those who have a political pulse, but by those who are risk-averse, pro-Remain and do not want Brexit to happen,” she writes on Page 4 in today’s newspaper.
In other developments, senior Tories were in talks with opposition parties over a potential emergency motion for a Norway-style Brexit, saying they could draw on support from up to 70 Labour MPs if Mrs May’s deal was blocked by the Commons.
And Brandon Lewis, the Conservative chairman, was accused of peddling “nonsense” to hundreds of Tory association chairmen about the exit mechanism in the deal.
Jan French, the chairman of the new Brexit Secretary’s constituency association, said Theresa May should stand down and criticised her EU withdrawal deal as two polls last night showed substantial swings from Conservative to Labour. Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, who along with Michael Gove privately indicated she was staying on in an attempt to seek changes to the agreement, stated in a television interview that there was still time for “more to be done” on the deal.
Ms Leadsom and Mr Gove are holding talks with three other Cabinet ministers, including Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, who has indicated she may quit over the plan. Meanwhile, a recording leaked to The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Mrs May intended to plough on with her controversial “common rule book” as part of the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.
Mr Goldsmith says the deal “suits the EU far better than it suits the UK” and was unacceptable to Leave and Remain voters alike. He says: “In effect, Britain would remain in the EU but without having any say. Had that been the choice, I personally would have voted to Remain.” Mr Goldsmith, a friend of Boris Johnson, says there was no time to lose to negotiate a Canada-style trade agreement – a position advocated by the former foreign secretary and David Davis, the former Brexit secretary.
In her article, Ms Braverman claims today that the approach of officials negotiating on behalf of Mrs May always seemed to be: “Don’t upset Brussels.” She says: “Clause 132 which allows the implementation period to be extended ... never appeared in any draft agreements that I saw. Yet the final version … states the settled position between the EU and the UK to extend the transition period until an unknown date.”
Mrs May insisted the draft agreement “delivers the Brexit the British people voted for”. A spokesman said the final deal “will deliver a more secure and more prosperous Britain”.