Vote down Brexit deal again and you’ll get customs union or second referendum

Theresa May was last night given a boost in her knife-edge battle to secure MPs’ support for her Brexit deal when the Tories’ powerful ‘king-maker’ signalled he was ready to drop his opposition to it.

The intervention from Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the party’s backbench 1922 Committee, comes amid growing confidence in Downing Street that opposition to her deal is starting to crumble ahead of the critical Commons vote on March 12.

No 10 believes the prospect of MPs voting to delay or overturn Brexit if the deal is voted down has reduced the number of diehard opponents to between 15 and 25 – a group dubbed the ‘death cult’ by one pro-May MP.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured has been handed a significant boost ahead of her latest attempt to pass her Brexit deal through parliament 

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured has been handed a significant boost ahead of her latest attempt to pass her Brexit deal through parliament 

Chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers Graham Brady, pictured, has said he was decided that he will support Mrs May's deal

Chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers Graham Brady, pictured, has said he was decided that he will support Mrs May's deal

Hardline opponent Jacob Rees-Mogg has also indicated he would support Mrs May's deal

Hardline opponent Jacob Rees-Mogg has also indicated he would support Mrs May's deal

Brussels sources say that any attempt by MPs to delay Brexit – due at the end of this month – by extending Article 50 for longer than a matter of weeks is likely to come with strict conditions, such as the UK remaining in a customs union or agreeing to hold a second referendum.

Sir Graham, who voted against Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement in January, writes in The Mail on Sunday today that after talking to ‘senior diplomats and politicians from across Europe’, he has ‘cause for optimism that a breakthrough is near’ to alter the backstop, which would keep Northern Ireland tied to EU rules.

The Altrincham and Sale West MP – who criticised the political class’s handling of Brexit as ‘lions led by donkeys’ – added: ‘The whole country is tired of vacillation and delay. When the right compromise is offered, we should pull together behind the Prime Minister.’

Mrs May’s allies have also been encouraged by the softening of opposition by Jacob Rees-Mogg, head of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs.

One said: ‘Jacob has finally realised that he stands to lose Brexit altogether. But it is still going to be: Will Boris [Johnson] and David Davis also see the light?’

Brussels insiders say negotiators have entered the ‘tunnel process’ – intensive and continuous talks to try to find a legally binding addition to the Withdrawal Agreement around the backstop.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier finally conceded yesterday that Brussels was ready to give ‘further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary’ and hinted they would be legally enforceable.

However, he added that a short extension would be needed to ratify the terms of the deal on both sides of the Channel.

Downing Street will this week make a direct appeal to Labour MPs to back the deal.

Labour 'bribe' rift 

The  Brexit Secretary has warned Theresa May that her plan to ‘bribe’ Labour MPs into backing her EU deal risks delaying Britain’s exit.

The Prime Minister is set to offer MPs rolling votes on whether to adopt workers’ rights legislation that comes out of Brussels after the UK has left the bloc – in a bid to win over wavering Labour MPs and get them to back her divorce terms. But in a stark warning, Stephen Barclay said there were ‘significant risks with this approach’, adding that Mrs May must ‘stop short’ of giving Parliament a binding say.

He added that there was ‘extremely limited’ time to rewrite crucial Brexit legislation to include the offer before exit day, risking a delay.

Bassetlaw MP John Mann boasted that as many as 70 of his Labour colleagues could humiliate Jeremy Corbyn by abstaining or voting with the Government.

Downing Street poured cold water on the figure, but insiders are confident that 30 could back Mrs May – leading to a wafer-thin majority if the DUP can be convinced to back the deal or abstain.

Mrs May has also moved to quash attempts by Brexiteer Tory members to deselect their Remain-backing MPs. She personally telephoned former Minister Sam Gyimah, who quit to oppose Brexit, to reassure him when news emerged that he faced an internal bid to oust him from his Surrey seat.

Party chairman Brandon Lewis has promised that Conservative HQ will step in to veto the deselection of any Tory MP who supports the Prime Minister’s deal. In a further boost last night, another Tory MP who voted against Mrs May’s deal said he was also performing a U-turn. Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers said: ‘Sadly, I cannot see how we can achieve Brexit other than by supporting a revised version of the PM’s deal.’

He added: ‘If we can reach a compromise on the backstop, we have to accept the reality that this is the best we can get. Otherwise we could end up in a deal that prevents us from implementing trade deals, having to keep free movement or, perish the thought, remaining an EU member.’

Meanwhile, Whitehall ground to a halt on Thursday evening for a No Deal dress rehearsal involving hundreds of Government officials and spin doctors.

The ‘day one’ doomsday scenario – codenamed ND:D1 – was ‘war-gamed’ with minute-by-minute updates, including a surge in Real IRA violence, cash machines running out of money and Britain’s borders grinding to a halt.

By ND:D7 – a week into the worst-case scenario – the Grand National at Aintree on April 6 was called off due to racehorses being stranded on motorways gridlocked by congestion and riots.

Oscar winning former Labour MP Glenda Jackson admits she's a fan of Theresa May but thinks Jeremy Corbyn is 'crazed'

By HARRY COLE 

Glenda Jackson has come out fighting for Theresa May, saying she ‘loves’ the Prime Minister – while warning that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour is ‘crazed’.

Despite being a lifelong critic of the Tories, the double Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP, 82, praised Mrs May’s Brexit tenacity.

Describing the Prime Minister’s critics as ‘disgraceful’, she said: ‘There she is, slogging away, God love her.

Ms Jackson said she admires Theresa May, left, and thinks Jeremy Corbyn, right, is 'crazed'

‘I’m a big admirer of her and I think the way she’s been treated is utterly disgraceful. I don’t only mean by her own party. I’ve certainly admired her in the way she has handled herself over Brexit, yes.

‘I do admire her for her tenacity, trying to deliver the referendum result to the people of our country, even though I disapproved of it.

‘She tries to bring together two opposing sides, who find it very hard to tolerate each other, at the same time as having to deal with 27 other countries.’ Jackson, who starred in Women In Love and Elizabeth R before going on to become an MP for 23 years, also branded the idea of a second referendum as ‘absurd’, adding: ‘What’s to stop people then saying, “Well, let’s have a third?”’

And she turned her fire on Corbyn, adding: ‘I will always defend my party, but we’re not exactly covering ourselves with glory at the moment, are we?’

Asked how she would fix Labour, she told The Guardian: ‘I’d ask someone to explain to me what we’re doing. Anybody, please, tell me what are we doing? It’s crazed.’

Simples! How Theresa May's embarrassing Meerkat quip won her closest aide tea at the Ritz worth £58 and opened up the PM to ridicule

One of Theresa May’s closest aides won tea at The Ritz after getting the Prime Minister to say ‘Simples’ in the Commons.

MPs were baffled when Mrs May used the catchphrase made famous by meerkat Alexsandr in the Compare The Market ads, telling SNP leader Ian Blackford: ‘He should vote for a deal – simples!’

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Seema Kennedy, Mrs May’s Parliamentary Private Secretary, had a wager with Tory MP Simon Hoare that she could get her boss to say the word. Tea at The Ritz costs £58 – or £77 with a glass of bubbly. 

Seema Kennedy, left, Mrs May's Parliamentary Private Secretary, laid a bet with fellow Tory MP Simon Hoare that she could get her boss to use the word 'Simples' at PMQs 

Seema Kennedy, left, Mrs May's Parliamentary Private Secretary, laid a bet with fellow Tory MP Simon Hoare that she could get her boss to use the word 'Simples' at PMQs 

Mr Hoare now owes Ms Kennedy tea at the Ritz which costs around £58

Mr Hoare now owes Ms Kennedy tea at the Ritz which costs around £58

Politicians said they were 'stunned' by the quote, with Labour MP Rupa Huq tweeting: 'Theresa Meerkat just stunned the Commons by Maybot malfunction in stating it’s her deal or no deal then concluding "simples".'

Labour MP Liz McInnes said on Twitter: 'Yes, Theresa May did just respond "Simples" in the Brexit statement. Theresa Meerkat is now in charge. God help us.'

Sharon Hodgson, a Labour MP, said: 'Really can’t believe the PM has just said her Brexit plan is "Simples!" Well

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