Theresa May should close Parliament to stop rebel MPs ruining Brexit, Rees-Mogg blasts
The top Brexiteer said the PM should ask the Queen to mothball Parliament rather than risk a delay to Brexit
THERESA May should shut down Parliament in a drastic attempt to stop MPs blocking Brexit, Jacob Rees-Mogg said today.
The top Brexiteer insisted the PM would have to consider asking the Queen to "prorogue" Parliament rather than accept a bid to take No Deal off the table.
Critics accused Mr Rees-Mogg of launching a "coup" by trying to take away the right of MPs to pass laws.
Speaking to the Bruges Group think-tank in London, the European Research Group boss hit out at a amendment tabled by Yvette Cooper.
The motion, due to be voted on next week, would give MPs the power to delay Brexit if Britain is headed for No Deal.
Mr Rees-Mogg said: “They are trying to thwart what they themselves voted for. This would be a constitutional outrage.
"The proper, settled arrangements between the executive and legislature have worked well for centuries.
"If the House of Commons undermines our basic constitutional conventions then the executive is entitled to use other vestigial constitutional means to stop it. By which I basically mean prorogation.
"I hope it would not be necessary for the Queen’s stay at Sandringham to be interrupted for her in person to prorogue Parliament.
"We do not want that sort of constitutional crisis, we want to observe the constitutional norms."
BREXIT BACKSLIDING?
The Brexiteer again hinted that he could carry out a U-turn and back Mrs May's deal if she ditches the hated Irish backstop plan.
He said: "There are outbreaks of realism all around I see.
"I’m sure common sense and practicality will now prevail. The backstop doesn’t work for unionists in the Tory party, or the DUP.
"The pretence that we might ever swallow it is now over. It’s long past time to get on and just do the feasible deal that has always been there to do.”
But he denied becoming a "soft touch", insisting: “As long as the backstop is there, I will not vote for this deal."
The only people blocking Brexit are those like Jacob Rees-Mogg
Nick Boles
Tory MP Nick Boles, who has sponsored the anti-No Deal amendment, accused him of a "coup", adding: "The only people blocking Brexit are those like Jacob Rees-Mogg who voted against a Brexit deal last week."
A No10 source told The Sun that officials have already discussed the idea of proroguing Parliament - but quickly dismissed it.
The source said: "It's at the least plausible end of about 100 options we've talked about."
A number of Brexiteers are worried that if they don't end up backing the PM's deal, Remainers will succeed in keeping Britain in the EU.
Today Ben Bradley told the BBC: "I do feel and having spoken to colleagues in the DUP, and Brexiteer colleagues, that if she gets that movement on the backstop she will get a majority."
But EU envoy Michel Barnier said preparing for No Deal is now ";more important than ever".
He urged MPs to decide what they want to happen, saying: "To stop No Deal, a positive majority for another solution will need to emerge.
How will this all end? Brexit outcomes explained
GOING SOFT
A cross-party group of MPs are frantically pushing an alternative Soft Brexit plan which could replace Mrs May's deal.
It would be welcomed by big business - but Brexit voters would be unhappy because it would mean Britain accepting open borders, and following European rules without a say.
HOW LIKELY? 3/5
HARD AS NAILS
Most of the Tory Brexiteers who oppose the PM's deal want her to return to Brussels and strike a tougher line.
But Eurocrats currently insist it's impossible to re-open negotiations.
HOW LIKELY? 2/5
REFERENDUM RE-RUN
Dozens of MPs are hell-bent on forcing Mrs May to hold a second referendum so Britain can stay in the EU.
Yet without the support of the Government it's unlikely the second vote could become a reality.
HOW LIKELY? 3/5
DEAL OR NO DEAL?
If Mrs May cannot pass a deal, the legal default is that we will leave the EU without a deal on March 29.
Despite the legal position, the majority of MPs insist they will take any measure necessary to rule out No Deal.
HOW LIKELY? 3/5
MAY TRIUMPHS - EVENTUALLY
Cabinet ministers remain adamant that a version of Theresa May's plan will eventually pass the Commons, even after losing last week.
They believe sceptical MPs will lose their nerve as Brexit Day approaches - terrified of either No Deal or a second referendum.
HOW LIKELY? 4/5
MOST READ IN POLITICS
"We have to give this brief period of time to the UK Parliament, to the UK Government, to have this debate and to take their decision."
A new poll provided hope for Mrs May, suggesting that her deal is the most "acceptable" outcome for most Brits.
Nearly half of voters said they could accept the deal, with only 30 per cent disagreeing, according to Number Cruncher Politics.
But Boris Johnson appeared to strike a softer approach as he signalled he could back the deal if the PM secured the power to quit the backstop unilaterally.
He met the Government chief whip in Downing Street. He told reporters on the way in: “If the UK now negotiates with conviction and if we really mean it this time that we can secure the changes that we need.”
No10 is hoping the threat of the so-called ‘Cooper-Boles amendment will persuade Brexit rebels to back the PM’s deal.
To stop No Deal, a positive majority for another solution will need to emerge
Michel Barnier, EU’s chief Brexit negotiator
Leading Cabinet Brexiteer Liam Fox warned Tory rebels that the Remainer amendment was a “real danger” to Brexit because “what they really mean is not having Brexit at all”.
He urged Tory MPs to “swallow” their pride and back the PM’s deal or risk losing Brexit altogether.
The chances of the ‘Cooper-Boles’ amendment succeeding were given a major boost last night after Jeremy Corbyn was preparing to formally back it.
Sources said Yvette Cooper had agreed to shorten the ‘delay’ to Brexit from nine months to three months in a bid to win more support from Labour and Tory backbenchers.
The amendment to Mrs May’s Plan B is expected to be voted on next Tuesday. The plan calls on the PM to agree a deal by February 26 or extend Article 50 – effectively ruling out a No Deal.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd warned No.10 last week that dozens of Ministers want to back it.
Hardcore Remainer Lord Adonis said Mr Rees-Mogg’s plan was “appallingly reactionary” and pointed out that the last time a monarch vetoed a bill was Queen Anne in 1707.
A string of British business leaders including the bosses of JML and Wetherspoon, penned a letter to the Prime Minister urging her to pursue a managed No Deal Brexit.
The letter said: “The Government’s deal is not in the best interests of business, nor is it the only option. The Government has tried to portray Theresa May’s deal as the only one that delivers for business; that is simply not true.
“As businesses, we do not fear a managed No Deal but welcome it. A managed No Deal
would be good for business.”
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