Michael Gove leads Cabinet ‘Pizza Club’ to salvage Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in a 7-day race against time — instead of toppling Theresa May
Instead of quitting and toppling the PM, the Leave campaign boss will ally with four other Brexiteer Cabinet members to enforce a vision of a Canada-style trade deal from the EU
LEAVE campaign boss Michael Gove is staying on in the Cabinet to try to salvage a future EU trade deal along with a ‘Pizza Club’ of Brexiteer ministers, it emerged tonight.
The pivotal Environment Secretary was seen to have held Theresa May’s political fate in his hands as he agonised for 36 hours over quitting.
But despite pleas from even his closest friends to resign and lead the bid to topple the PM, he decided it would be “irresponsible to walk out now”.
Instead, Mr Gove will ally with four other Brexiteer Cabinet members to lead a seven-day race against time to enforce a vision of a Canada-style trade deal from the EU.
Europe’s 28 leaders meet next Sunday November 25 to formally approve a declaration of future aspirations alongside the already nailed-down divorce deal.
Hardline Brexiteer ministers were horrified when they saw “deep regulatory and customs cooperation” on goods as the basis for a blueprint agreed by the PM with Brussels.
They fear that will tie Britian to EU rules forever and prevent major new trade deals being signed with countries such as the US.
Other Cabinet members of the ‘Pizza Club’ – who meet secretly to discuss tactics are Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
All four also independently decided to stay in the Government, thinking they would have more influence there, a Cabinet source said.
But Mr Gove and the others have now given up hope of winning changes to the controversial Irish backstop, that could keep the UK in a customs union for years.
The Cabinet source said: “May has made clear that she won’t allow the backstop to be unpicked, so Michael and the others will now wait to see if it falls at the meaningful vote.
“But the political declaration on the future trade deal can be improved, as that’s still being negotiated right up to the summit. That’s where they feel they can have real effect now.”
But The Sun can also reveal that Mr Gove told the PM her soft Brexit deal will be rejected by the Commons in a crucial showdown meaningful vote next month when he turned down her offer of Brexit Secretary on Thursday.
The Pizza Club could meet as early as Sunday.
They are also reaching out to other Cabinet ministers who have expressed unhappiness as the PM’s vision of close alignment to the EU - Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt, Geoffrey Cox, and Sajid Javid.
The Sun can reveal that Mr Gove’s former advisor and Leave campaign svengali Dominic Cummings went to his West London house on Thursday to heap pressure on him to resign.
But another friend of Mr Gove’s said he felt he was “screwed either way”, as he didn’t want to be blamed by the party for bringing down Mrs May after knifing Boris Johnson during the Tory leadership contest two years ago.
Returning to work yesterday to reveal he was staying on, Mr Gove said he “absolutely” does still have confidence in Mrs May as leader.
But he stopped short of publicly endorsing her Brexit deal.
Signalling his plan, Mr Gove added: “I think it’s absolutely vital that we focus on getting the right deal in the future and making sure that in the areas that matter so much to the British people, we can get a good outcome”.
Meanwhile Mrs May carried on with her desperate push to sell her Brexit deal to voters and MPs.
Doing a breakfast show phone-in with LBC radio station on Friday, she insisted there were “areas where we said no, and held our ground, and the European Union has given in to us”.
She added: “As you might recall, Ken Clarke did say I was a bloody difficult woman”.
Liam Fox also issued his first words of backing for the PM after 36 hours of silence, insisting: “What we need now is stability”.
The Sun Says
STEPHEN Barclay may not exactly be a household name.
But as the new boss of No Deal planning, he may have the most important job in Government.
Only if we’re ready for a clean break from Brussels is there a chance that the Prime Minister’s dodgy deal might be improved — and get through Parliament.
Over the past two years of circuitous negotiations, the one lesson has been that the European Union understands only the most brutal, blunt language.
British negotiators have tried the give-and-take compromise approach and the only result has been their pockets being turned out before they’ve got back on the Eurostar.
We must now be clear that we are not just prepared to leave without a deal but will embrace doing so. That means Mr Barclay needs to get our ports, our airports, our security services and our customs authorities ready for March 30.
Chancellor Philip Hammond must be clear, too, that he will use the £39billion earmarked for the “divorce bill” for a massive programme of infrastructure spending and tax cuts that will supercharge the economy. We must be bold.
Theresa May has been clear that this is a “draft” deal. In truth Brussels will not change a single word unless we show them that we’re not scared of building a future outside the EU.
The sorry deal we have is the direct result of unimaginative civil servants who viewed the vote to leave — the largest democratic mandate this country has ever seen — not as an opportunity to build a better future but as a damage-limitation exercise.
It is telling that the PM, with remarkable resilience, has to do her own cheerleading. Where are all those in the Cabinet who back the deal? Why aren’t they on the TV and the radio?
It’s hard to shake the feeling that some still around the table are thinking too much about their career prospects at this vital time, hoping nobody will remember their silence.
We hope the Brexiteers in the Cabinet, sidelined for too long, DO redraw this plan. They are, after all, now armed with the fact that as it stands it will struggle to get through Parliament. We hope that the Prime Minister WILL tell the EU they need to bend.
But they will only listen if we ready ourselves to walk away and be ruthless.
The PM’s unofficial deputy told the Cabinet this week not to get too hung up on the exit mechanism, that parliament could always find a way.
It was pointed out that, if needed, we could suspend the Ministerial Code and break international law if the national interest required it.
We shouldn’t take such a step lightly.
But we are in extraordinary times, and perhaps only extraordinary action will do.
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Issuing an appeal to fellow Brexiteer Tory MPs to end their coup attempt on Mrs May, the Cabinet minister urged them to take “a rational and reasonable view” of the crisis.
Dr Fox added: “We are not elected to do what we want. We are elected to do what’s in the national interest. Ultimately I hope that across Parliament we’ll recognise that a deal is better than no deal.”
More than 200 business leaders have urged Tory MPs to vote down the draft Brexit plan. The group, including Wetherspoons’ Tim Martin, called it a “national humiliation”.
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