Theresa May insists Parliament will not get powers to stop ‘no deal’ Brexit – despite concession claims with Tory rebels

THERESA May has insisted Parliament cannot be allowed to stop a no-deal Brexit, despite promises rebel Tory MPs insist she made to them.

The PM hardened her line yesterday — to the relief of Brexiteers — after the mayhem in Westminster on Tuesday night.

Both Leave and Remain-backing Tories were livid, accusing Mrs May of making them opposing promises to them then in her desperate bid to stave off a crippling Commons defeat to boost MPs and peers’ powers.

Addressing PMQs yesterday, Mrs May again said MPs would get a meaningful vote on her final Brexit deal with Brussels, as “we need to be accountable to Parliament”.

But she also insisted: “The Government’s hand in negotiations cannot be tied by Parliament.

“I cannot countenance Parliament being able to overturn the will of the British people: Parliament gave the decision to the British people, the British people voted to leave the European Union and as Prime Minister I’m determined to deliver that.”

Dismissing what rebels thought had been a key concession to allow MPs a vote to block a ‘no deal’ outcome from December onwards, the PM’s official spokesman added: “People voted to leave the EU in a referendum.

“The PM has said many times that no deal is better than a bad deal.

“We have to be in a position to honour the result of the referendum in all circumstances”.

Ministers were last night trying to hammer out a compromise agreement with the Tory rebels – who are lead by former Attorney General Dominic Grieve — in a bid to keep Mrs May’s rocking leadership alive.
Leading backbench Brexiteers Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers and Jacob Rees-Mogg also joined the talks in Downing Street.

The Government will today publish its plan to end the massive stand-off, in an amendment to be voted on in the Lords on Monday.

But the Tory rebels – who count more than 20 in their ranks — vowed they would “stand firm” yesterday, teeing up another dramatic showdown next week when they could ally with Labour to defeat the Government’s wafer-thin majority.

Asked if she felt she’d been “played” by Mrs May yesterday, one of the rebels — senior Tory backbencher Sarah Wollaston – said: “No, because we know there’s going to be another opportunity to vote on this.

The Government will know that if it comes back to us without the spirit of that agreement being honoured, then they will lose the vote.

She added: “This is our last opportunity to do it within this legislation. So people will stand firm on this”.

Tory Brexiteers hit back at the rebels to accuse them of a power grab and trying to rewrite Britain’s constitution.

The boss of the hardline European Reform Group Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Sun: “If they want to mandate the PM to change her position they have to have a vote of confidence and get a new PM.

“And that is the long established constitutional position.

“I am keen for scrutiny but you need to observe the separation of powers between the executive and legislature.”

Energy Minister Claire Perry tried to reassure the Tory rebels to insist Mrs May will not let them down.

The minister said: “The Prime Minister is a woman who keeps her word”.

As the EU looked on yesterday at the high stakes Commons drama, some of its leaders admitted they were struggling to keep up with its twists and turns.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte confessed: “Of course, I’m a keen observer of what happens in London, so yes I’m following the votes.

“I try to make sense of it, it’s not always easy.”

Tory former minister Anna Soubry said she would also be voting for the EEA amendment.

She told the Commons: “I will be voting for the EEA amendment because I believe, as I have said many, many times in this place, of the value of the single market.”

Ms Soubry urged MPs to advocate the case for immigration and “suck it up”, saying: “Suck it up: there is no alternative that has been advanced in this place other than the customs union, the single market.

“Let’s grab it, let’s do it and move on.”

Last night local Tory association chiefs warned of repercussions if MPs defied Theresa May over the Brexit bill.

One official in Jonathan Djanogly’s Huntingdon constituency — which voted 53.4 per cent to leave — said their members were torn over his Remainer stance.

They described the situation as a “nightmare” saying there had been numerous calls for his deselection while he was branded a “liar” by angry party activists.

However, the official said the constituency was split with many members and officials supportive of him after he increased his majority at last year’s General Election.

In Heidi Allen’s South Cambridgeshire constituency — which voted 38.4 per cent to Leave — another party official said she was “assured” the MP had done what she “considered to be right” and there was unlikely to be consequences.

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