Brexit chaos could plunge Britain into a general election in weeks, ministers said yesterday.
As the Government’s strategy went into meltdown, senior ministers ‘war-gamed’ scenarios that could see a national poll called three years ahead of schedule.
Theresa May appeared to hint that an election might be needed to break the deadlock – telling MPs she was not prepared to accept a soft Brexit even if they voted for one. The Prime Minister had been forced to abandon plans to put her withdrawal agreement before the Commons for a third time today after DUP leader Arlene Foster maintained her opposition.
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The defeated Prime Minister photographed leaving the Palace of Westminster tonight after enduring yet another torrid day over Brexit
And ministers were braced for MPs to take control of Brexit last night in a bid to make Mrs May pursue other options – or even end the process altogether. The move by Oliver Letwin of the Tories and Yvette Cooper of Labour would let MPs hold ‘indicative votes’ tomorrow on options – including revocation of Article 50 – which Mrs May would then be told to deliver.
In other developments:
Jacob Rees-Mogg gave Mrs May a glimmer of hope by telling a private meeting of Eurosceptic MPs that he would vote for her plan provided the DUP came on boardPenny Mordaunt warned fellow Cabinet ministers that the Government could face an outbreak of French-style ‘gilet jaune’ protests if it failed to deliver Brexit;Former Cabinet minister John Whittingdale became the most senior Tory to warn publicly that he would back Mrs May only if she agreed to set out a timetable for her own departure;Mrs May sparked a backlash from Eurosceptic Tories by warning of a ‘slow Brexit’ if her plan is rejected again – and appearing to rule out No Deal;The Prime Minister voiced regret for her attack last week on ‘game-playing’ MPs;Downing Street said that the Commons would be asked to vote tomorrow on whether to change the law to extend the UK’s exit date until at least April 12.
The historic moment the Government lost the Letwin amendment by 329 votes to 302, a whopping majority of 27 for the rebels. The last time a similar vote was held a fortnight ago it lost by two votes
Richard Harrington was one of three MPs to stand down on Monday night over the crucial vote
Another MP to stand down was Steve Brine, the MP for Winchester (pictured)
Alistair Burt and Mr Green joined the rebellion just a day after they were part of a delegation of ministers and former ministers invited by the Prime Minister to Chequers
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told a meeting of the Cabinet that failure to pass Mrs May’s plan in the coming weeks would almost inevitably lead to an election.
Writing in the Daily Mail, he today makes a last-ditch appeal to hardline Leavers to get behind Mrs May – or face losing Brexit altogether. Two weeks ago his legal advice led many Tory MPs to reject the withdrawal agreement because of fears the UK could remain in the Irish border backstop.
But today he argues the plan’s disadvantages have been ‘exaggerated and demonised’ by opponents of Brexit.
If MPs do not vote for the agreement in the coming days, he says the Commons will ‘exert itself’ and try to force either a second referendum, or a plan that keeps the UK inside the customs union and single market.
He warns ‘powerful and unreconciled forces’ who opposed Brexit were still trying to stop it and says his biggest fear is the UK will never regain its ‘independence’.
He says: ‘We must grasp our freedom now and heed the beckoning call of the future, for if we do not, history will marvel that we spurned this fleeting moment of opportunity.’
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay leaving Downing Street with Theresa May today after cabinet, at which he is said to have again floated the idea of holding a General Election
The Government is prepared to pull the plug and force a General Election if MPs try to seize control of Brexit and make it softer than Theresa May's deal.
Ministers including Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay are said to have raised the prospect if Parliament votes this evening to wrestle control of the withdrawal process.
The Commons will tonight vote on a series of amendments to a Government motion that would pave the way to so-called indicative votes taking place on Wednesday.
These would allow MPs to show what sort of Brexit they wish to push through if a majority cannot be found for Mrs May's twice-defeated deal.
The talk of forcing a General Election come despite an Opinium poll from two months ago finding that only 12 per cent of Britons would welcome another one, just two years after the last resulted in a hung Parliament.
Mr Barclay reportedly repeated at Cabinet today warnings he gave on television yesterday.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show he said that if the Commons took control of the order paper and votes for a different outcome, it would 'potentially collide with fundamental commitments the Government has given in their manifesto', though he said the vote itself would 'not be binding'.
Explaining the scenario, he said: 'What Parliament has done is vote for a number of contradictory things so we would need to untangle that but ultimately, at its logical conclusion, the risk of a general election increases because you potentially have a situation where Parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do.'
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox this morning gave a stark warning to MPs, telling BBC Radio 4's Today: 'I was elected, as 80 per cent of members were, to respect the referendum and leave the European Union.
'I was also elected on a manifesto that specifically said no single market and no customs union.
'That, for Conservative MPs who are honouring the manifesto, limits their room for manoeuvre.
The former hardline Brexiteer turned May loyalist added that the prospect of a longer Brexit delay meaning participation in May's European Elections would 'unleash a torrent of pent-up frustration from voters'.
'I'm not sure that there are many people in the House of Commons who would fancy that particular meeting with voters,' he said.
'It would unleash a torrent of pent-up frustration from voters and I think that the major parties will do what they can to avoid having to fight those European elections.
'There is nothing in politics like a little bit of self-interest to concentrate the minds, and I think, as we get towards that date, increasingly my colleagues will have to decide which of the limited options they want to follow.'
He urged MPs to back Mrs May's deal, warning: 'For a lot of my colleagues, I think they still believe there is a route to no deal. I have come to the conclusion some time ago that was unlikely given the House of Commons that we have.
'I think we will see today that there is a mood in the House of Commons to stop us leaving without a deal, even if that means no Brexit. I think that is a constitutionally disastrous position.'
Theresa May indicated in the Commons earlier today that she would allocate Government time for indicative votes if the Letwin Amendment was defeated
At yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay repeated his weekend warning that an election would be the logical conclusion of the Government losing control over the Brexit process.
Fellow ministers Liam Fox, Andrea Leadsom and Alan Cairns also warned that they believed an election was increasingly likely.
One source said: ‘If we lose control of the process then we are heading for an election.
‘We’ll either lose a confidence vote – in which case you could even get Corbyn without an election – or we will be forced to go for an election ourselves.’
Another source said: ‘It’s not just scaremongering, it’s the only way out of this.’
A Downing Street spokesman said that Mrs May was opposed to a general election.
But a senior Tory source acknowledged it was a growing possibility, adding: ‘The reason the Cabinet is so determined to get this deal through is that there is a full understanding that the alternatives are pretty grim.’
Mrs May told yesterday’s emergency Cabinet meeting that she hoped to put her agreement to the vote for a third time today.
But the move was vetoed by the DUP, whose support is seen as critical in persuading Eurosceptic Tories to fall in line.
