Enter Mogg the peacebroker: Help me to save Theresa May and Brexit

Jacob Rees-Mogg emerged last night as Theresa May’s best hope 

Jacob Rees-Mogg emerged last night as Theresa May’s best hope 

Jacob Rees-Mogg emerged last night as Theresa May’s best hope to avert a snap General Election – or her forced departure from Downing Street by the spring.

In the wake of the Prime Minister’s crushing Commons defeat on her Brexit deal, a group of her most senior allies have ‘war-gamed’ a scenario in which Mrs May would sue for peace with her rebellious backbenchers by offering to resign by May – in exchange for them dropping their opposition.

It comes as the same allies are frantically selecting policies to include in a ‘short, sharp’ manifesto in the event that Mrs May is forced to call a snap Election.

But in a sign that the intensity of opposition could be lessening, Mr Rees-Mogg presents himself as a peacebroker committed to making Mrs May’s deal acceptable to her party.

The powerful chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs uses an article in today’s Mail on Sunday to say: ‘If I had to choose between no deal and Mrs May’s original accord, I would have no hesitation of opting for no-deal Brexit – but even Mrs May’s deal would be better than not leaving at all.’

Downing Street was rocked by their loss on Tuesday by 230 votes, which made history as the biggest-ever government defeat.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who infuriated No 10 by hosting a champagne party at his London townhouse to celebrate the loss, says: ‘The biggest obstacles within the Prime Minister’s current deal are the backstop [keeping Northern Ireland tied to EU rules] and the £39 billion we currently propose to give to Brussels but for which we get nothing in return.

‘If Mrs May can persuade the EU to show flexibility on these, we could get the deal through the Commons... It is high time for the Tory Party to come together in the national interest.’

Mrs May, who will hold a conference call with her warring Cabinet today on the ‘next steps’ for Brexit, is also offered an olive branch today by one of the EU’s most influential figures.

Tory key election manifesto issues 

Advisers are drawing up an ‘incredibly short’ set of pledges in case of an early Election, said to be light on detail but big on vision. Here’s what it could look like......   

BREXIT

To emerge from Brexit a strong and united nation, able to take a lead in the world to defend Britain’s interests and forge new trade deals with the EU and the wider world.

ECONOMY

To make sure our economy stays strong and to bring prosperity to the whole of our country, and build a fairer immigration system with the end of free movement.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

To overcome social divisions by giving people real opportunity and making Britain the world’s Great Meritocracy and a country that works for everyone.

Theresa May suffered a loss of 230 votes, which made history as the biggest-ever government defeat

Theresa May suffered a loss of 230 votes, which made history as the biggest-ever government defeat

SOCIAL CARE

To restore the contract between the generations that provides security for older people while being fair to the young as well as continue to protect our world-leading National Health Service.

PROTECTING CITIZENS

To seize the opportunities of changing technology, while ensuring that our security and personal privacy – and the welfare of children and younger people – are still protected.

this newspaper that Mrs May would find ‘an open door’ if she wanted to make changes to the deal but ‘must act soon’.

He says that a request to delay Brexit would ‘be assessed in good faith’, but was unlikely to be allowed beyond July 1.

He adds: ‘It is time for British leaders to lead.’

Under the ‘May goes in May’ plan, the Prime Minister would offer to step down in time for a new leader to take over for the trade talks.

One ally said: ‘She would countenance going if it was the only way to protect her legacy.’

And a powerful MP who resigned from Government over the deal said: ‘Backstop or no backstop, if she promised to go in April, I would vote for the deal.’

In a separate development, The Mail on Sunday can also reveal Mrs May’s private polling strategist James Johnson has been testing Election narratives and messages in preparation for Britain having to go back to the polls to break the Brexit deadlock.

And the Director of No 10’s Policy Unit, James Marshall, has begun preliminary discussions about an ‘incredibly short and sharp’ manifesto after consulting with Government departments over what legislation they would seek to implement in a new Parliament.

Mrs May’s political policy advisers Richard Chew and Olivia Oates are also understood to be involved in preparations – despite public denials Mrs May is preparing to face voters again.

However, Downing Street last night insisted that a snap Election was not on the table.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: ‘Apart from anything else, there just wouldn’t be time before March 29.’

But a Downing Street source said: ‘No one wants it but if you plot through every route where we are, it is very difficult to see how you get out of this.’

The influential No 10 figure added: ‘I think we can get the deal through Parliament with a heck of a lot of luck but that’s not something we have had a huge supply of over the last two years, so it worries me.’

They added: ‘The biggest mistake we made last time was everyone was more prepared for an Election than the party that called one. So there is no point in burying our heads in the sand about this.’ Last night Tory MP for Battle Huw Merriman became the first Tory MP to call for an Election, saying: ‘When Parliament can’t pass laws, not just on Brexit but on other matters, and the Government cannot govern through that, then that’s normally when you have a General Election’.

No wonder the PM is looking to Rorke’s drift for inspiration 

Historic sketches of the 1879 Battle of Rorke’s Drift, drawn by the commander Lt John Chard, were shown round No 10 last week as part of plans to promote the treasures of the National Archives.

Historic sketches of the 1879 Battle of Rorke’s Drift

Historic sketches of the 1879 Battle of Rorke’s Drift

 Allies of Mrs May will hope that in her struggle to deliver Brexit against overwhelming odds, she draws inspiration from how 139 British soldiers fought off 4,000 Zulu warriors in a battle later immortalised in the 1964 film Zulu.  

Last ditch: Lt John Chard mapped Rorke's Drift and led his troops against seemingly insurmountable odds

Last ditch: Lt John Chard mapped Rorke's Drift and led his troops against seemingly insurmountable odds

He admitted to the BBC’s Sunday Politics South East that another Election would be ‘a total failure’, but added ‘but it won’t be the first time that we’ve had to do that’.

But Tory MPs have erupted over the prospect of a fresh ballot in a their private Whatsapp group, declaring the idea ‘dangerous’. In messages seen by The Mail on Sunday, Mark Francois vowed ‘never to stand for it’, while Zac Goldsmith raged: ‘Love to know

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