Theresa May urged to come up with a Brexit Plan B as talks with Labour reach brink of collapse
MUTINOUS Cabinet ministers will tell Theresa May she must come up with an urgent Brexit Plan B as talks with Labour reach the brink of collapse. The PM’s top table of ministers meet for a crisis showdown this morning to discuss the seven week-long negotiations with Jeremy Corbyn to pass her EU divorce deal. Both […]
MUTINOUS Cabinet ministers will tell Theresa May she must come up with an urgent Brexit Plan B as talks with Labour reach the brink of collapse.
The PM’s top table of ministers meet for a crisis showdown this morning to discuss the seven week-long negotiations with Jeremy Corbyn to pass her EU divorce deal.
Both Remainers and Leavers will demand she ends the talks now, in a bid to halt a dramatic collapse in Tory support barely a week out from the May 23 European elections, The Sun has learned.
But opinions also differ violently within the Cabinet on what to do next.
Frustrations boiled over as two more hours of talks between the two frontbench teams ended without any substantive progress.
One Cabinet source said: “It’s the vacuum which is killing us”.
Some in the Cabinet began to openly speculate whether Mrs May herself could survive the last ditch talks’ failure.
A senior Cabinet minister told The Sun: “The talks will end this week whatever. I can’t see Labour carrying on with them.
“Whether she then goes or not will depend on whether No10 have a Plan B, because we need one now, and it must be credible.”
A Remainer faction lead by Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd wants Mrs May to move on to holding a series of “definitive votes” in the Commons to find a majority for any Brexit outcome, from a customs union to a second referendum.
‘KILLING US’
But Leavers lead by Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox want to pivot towards a No Deal exit instead.
It has also emerged that Mr Barclay is working on his own plan to decouple major elements from the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that could be passed in separate laws now, such as EU citizens rights to stay here, so the UK is ready for a hard Brexit if need be.
Allies of Mr Barclay say he is “pessimistic” a majority for any Brexit deal will ever be found this summer.
Another Cabinet minister said: “We must seriously start ramping up our no deal preparations again.
“We must leave by October 31, no matter what. If we don’t, things will get considerably worse for the party than they even are now.”
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom is also understood to favour putting a “slimmed down” Withdrawal Agreement Bill before Parliament.
One ally said: “Andrea doesn’t believe indicative votes will take us any further.”
Jeremy Corbyn has talked down hopes of a deal when addressing Labour MPs, telling them: “The Government’s red lines have not changed and the idea that Tory MPs are going to come round any time soon to accept the deal is fanciful”.
BREXIT JAM
In bid to push Mrs May into a decision, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt dubbed it “a crunch week” for the talks and admitted MPs are “pessimistic” about any chance of success for them.
Downing Street continued to resist calls to move on yesterday.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “I’ve said many times that there is a desire to get on with this, but let’s see how this evening pans out.
“We need to get on with it.
“If we are able to make progress with Labour, then we would like to bring the bill before the House of Commons before the European elections.”
What happens next if Brexit talks break down?
THERESA May opened Brexit talks with Labour in desperation after being forced to agree a delay to our EU exit.
She insisted she had no choice but to negotiate with the opposition, having repeatedly failed to get enough of her own MPs on board to pass a deal.
But the talks are now on the brink of collapse after deadlock over the key issues of whether to stay in the EU customs union, and whether to hold a second referendum.
The Tories initially set last Wednesday as the deadline for negotiations to conclude and they are unlikely to continue beyond this week.
Assuming the talks do break down for good, Mrs May has pledged to hold a fresh round of Commons votes on all the possible Brexit outcomes.
Unlike the previous “indicative votes”, the motions would be binding with the Government agreeing to deliver whichever option won.
But the risk would be that – just as with the indicative votes – MPs could be so divided that no motion gets a majority.
If the process fails, another option for the PM is to bring back her existing deal for a fourth vote in Parliament.
To get round John Bercow’s ban on holding multiple votes on the same issue, it would take the form of a Withdrawal Agreement Bill enshrining the deal into legislation.
Mrs May hopes that the rise of Nigel Farage would prod Tory rebels and Labour backbenchers into joining her side so the Commons can finally deliver on Brexit.
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A Labour Party spokesperson added: “Talks continued tonight and the Shadow Cabinet and the trades union will be updated on what has been discussed.”
DUP leader Arlene Foster yesterday twisted the knife to accuse Mrs May of not having the “vision” to deliver Brexit.
Speaking at the launch of the Ulster unionists’ European Elections campaign, Ms Foster said: “We have a Prime Minister frankly who doesn’t have the vision for the United Kingdom post Brexit that we all want to see.
“We want to see a United Kingdom that is strong post-Brexit and has a close relationship with Europe.”
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