Remain-backing ministers 'give Theresa May two weeks' to get Brexit deal changes or face walkout
2 min read
Theresa May must agree her Brexit deal within a fortnight to avoid a string of ministerial resignations, she has been warned.
According to the Telegraph, a dozen ministers - including Cabinet heavyweights Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Gauke - took part in a conference call on Sunday night in which they discussed tactics ahead of a Commons vote this week that could see MPs demand a delay to Brexit.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper is leading the cross-party bid to force the Government to extend Article 50 and temporarily swerve a no-deal Brexit, with figures including Ms Rudd warning of resignations if ministers are whipped to vote against the plan.
But the paper reports that those on the call agreed to put off their planned rebellion if Mrs May gives a firm commitment to holding a second Commons vote on her Brexit plan within two weeks - potentially allowing enough time for a fresh backbench bid to extend Article 50 if she cannot strike a deal.
"We are not accepting jam tomorrow, we need a firm commitment to a date for the second meaningful vote," a source told the paper.
"It would mean that Tuesday isn't D-Day."
The call came as Sir Graham Brady, chair of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, tore into those in the Cabinet pressing for a free vote on Ms Cooper's amendment.
He told the BBC's Westminster Hour: "I think the Prime Minister should not tolerate this…
"We need to get back to proper discipline and collective responsibility. If people want the freedom to say what they please they should join me on the backbenches and do so."
Mr Brady is pushing his own amendment aimed at seeking "alternative arrangements" to the controversial Northern Ireland backstop element of Mrs May's Brexit deal.
He said he hoped ministers worried about a no-deal Brexit would "vote for my amendment which explicitly says we should support an agreement and not leave on a no-deal basis".
But The Times reports growing frustration among some loyalist MPs at the Prime Minister's strategy of pressing for changes to the backstop from Brussels - despite repeated signals from the EU that it is unlikely to give ground on what it sees as the only way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
"How long do we have to wait? People on the moderate and centre wing of the party are not going to wait until mid-March," one MP who voted for Mrs May's deal two weeks ago told the paper. "We’re just not."
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