Conservative MPs slam Theresa May’s ‘soft’ Brexit plan as ministers are branded cowards for caving in to compromise
THERESA May and her Cabinet faced a backlash from angry Tories over their Brexit “betrayal” last night.
Eurosceptic MPs accused the PM of secretly stitching up a deal with Remainer ministers so they could all cling on to their jobs.
They even turned on big-gun Brexiteers who caved in and backed the plan at a Chequers lock-in.
MPs turned on the PM hours after her blueprint for a soft Brexit was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet.
They warned it would reduce Britain to the role of a colony of a fledgling EU superstate – forced to obey rules but with no seat at the top table.
One senior figure warned: “She may have won this battle but she will soon be finished – and most of her Cabinet with her.
“They have all put themselves before the party, the will of the people and the future of the country. Their behaviour has been unforgivable.”
Open warfare erupted among Tories with MPs of all factions at each others’ throats.
It wasn’t just the PM and Cabinet Remainers who bore the brunt of their anger.
The seven Brexit ministers were branded “cowards” for refusing to resign rather than back the soft Brexit plan.
They in turn, railed against former Remainer ministers – including Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt and Gavin Williamson - who had publicly declared they now support Brexit.
One minister said: “They are all talk and no trousers. When the going got tough the deserted us.”
Brexit cheerleader Boris Johnson was blasted for failing to quit the Cabinet.
The reputations of Trade supremo Liam Fox and Brexit Secretary David Davis have also plummeted among the troops.
An ally of Mr Johnson said: “The only people who would benefit from Boris leaving Cabinet would be Barnier, Merkel, Selmayr and the rest of those negotiating for the EU.
“There is no doubt that we would be heading for an even softer Brexit had Boris not been around the Cabinet table – and it could still get worse.
“This is why he is determined to continue in his role and make the argument for Brexiteers.”
Another pal added: “Boris accepts Cabinet responsibility but still wants to be there and fighting.
Another said Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s leadership ambitions had been “shot to bits” for leaving Brexit colleagues “high and dry” at Friday’s summit.
Backbench MPs will decide this week whether they can muster the numbers to try to oust the PM.
They need 48 to force a confidence vote – but it is thought they will struggle to raise the numbers.
There were mounting suspicions that a deal was stitched up by EU-friendly civil servants and their colleagues in Brussels which would be easier to drive through in talks later this month.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “I have deep concerns that this is not what the British public voted for.”
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen added: “The government’s Brexit position is very weak beer, even before the EU start to water it down even further.”
“If he leaves, the plan is only going to get softer. He will strongly resist any further creep in that direction.”
Mr Davis spoke to EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier yesterday to talk through the Chequers proposals.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the deal could be “worse” than a “no deal” Brexit and suggested it broke the Conservatives’ manifesto promises.
Mr Rees-Mogg, the leader of a 60-strong group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, said tying the UK with EU rules and regulations could make “trade deals almost impossible”.
“As with eggs: an egg that is very softly boiled isn’t boiled at all,” he said. “A very soft Brexit means that we haven’t left, we are simply a rule-taker.
“That is not something that this country voted for, it is not what the Prime Minister promised.”
Mr Rees-Mogg said he was waiting to see the full details of the proposals to check if Theresa May’s previously-drawn red lines had turned “pink” but said that if the legislation shows it will be a “punishment Brexit” then it will be effectively “keeping us in the European Union in all but name”.
“The Prime Minister will, I’m sure, stick to her word - that is crucially important - but I will certainly stick to the Conservatives’ manifesto commitments and will not vote for something that doesn’t deliver Brexit.”
“It is possible that this deal is worse” than a “no deal” Brexit, Mr Rees-Mogg said.
Sir Bill Cash told BBC’s Newsnight he was “deeply disappointed, to say the least” and the plans “raise a lot of very serious questions”.
Meanwhile, Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary and Brexiteer, said: “I didn’t campaign to leave the European Union to have a different specification of motor car on sale in the UK to the one that’s on sale in France.
“This is simply saying that we will effectively sell the same products across Europe as we do now – it’s what business does and would do anyway, nobody produces a different product for one country.”
Nigel Dodds, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party at Westminster, praised Mrs May’s proposals and said: “The Government’s commitment at Chequers to the political and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom with no borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom is a welcome reaffirmation of what is an absolute priority for us.
The Sun Says
IT says something about how poorly Brexit has been managed that just being able to tell Brussels what we want is considerable progress.
The Government’s failure to plan for “no deal” and the PM’s dithering has forced us into doing a lot of the EU’s work for them, watering down a genuinely clean Brexit into an unambitious fudge.
But we have now, finally, put the ball in Brussels’ court. And we’re only at the start of what will be no doubt stormy negotiations for months to come.
There remain serious questions about not just the compromise that Theresa May has forced on her Cabinet but on the final deal she plans to sign with Brussels.
One, does it genuinely give us the ability to sign free trade deals across the rest of the world, strengthening our links with emerging markets and with the Commonwealth?
Two, does it genuinely end freedom of movement, or does the woolly language in Downing Street’s statement still give people the chance to come here on the off-chance they might find a job?
Three, can a future Government genuinely seek to diverge further away from the EU in certain areas without Brussels blowing the whole deal up, or charging us a king’s ransom to do so?
If the answer to any of those is no, then the Prime Minister will never be forgiven.
Not by her party and, as we report today, not by the public either.
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“Most sensible people recognise that it would be economically catastrophic as well as politically unacceptable to hive Northern Ireland off into some kind of hybrid status within the EU. That is not going to happen.”
However, he also warned the Government “must deliver on what the people of the United Kingdom voted for in the referendum, namely, control of our borders, our laws and our money” - adding that the DUP will be checking the “fine print” of the White Paper when it is published next week.
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