Minister says Brexit ‘is worth splitting Tories’

Brexit ‘is worth splitting Tories’: Minister’s astonishing claim as Theresa May is set to offer three major concessions to win Labour backing

  • New International Development Secretary Rory Stewart says the Tories should accept ‘short-term pain’ to settle Brexit
  • He said May should aim for a 30-year cross-party agreement with Labour
  • It comes as she prepares to offer significant concession to secure backing 

A cabinet minister last night said it would be worth splitting the Tory party to get Brexit passed.

Rory Stewart, who was promoted to International Development Secretary last week, suggested that the Conservatives should accept ‘short-term pain’ in order to settle the issue.

Theresa May is thought to be on the brink of offering significant concessions to Labour to win backing for her plan – including offering some form of customs union.

Rory Stewart, the new International Development Secretary, said the Conservatives should accept ‘short-term pain’ to settle Brexit

But her Tory critics yesterday warned the party would face a tidal wave of anger from voters if she ‘diluted’ Brexit.

It has been reported that as few as 90 Conservative MPs would support an agreement with Jeremy Corbyn.

 

Mr Stewart said cross-party cooperation was the only way to secure a parliamentary majority because of the resistance of some Tory MPs. 

Asked about the potential for a split, he told the BBC: ‘This is the most tortuous, torrid, painful time in British politics since the Second World War.

‘I think to get Brexit done, and to move this country on, is worth an enormous amount, and we may have to take some short-term pain to do that.’ 

He also suggested that Mrs May should aim for a 30-year cross-party agreement rather than one that could be overturned at the next election.

Theresa May is thought to be on the brink of offering significant concessions to Labour to win backing for her Brexit plan

It has been reported that as few as 90 Conservative MPs would support an agreement with Jeremy Corbyn

Mrs May yesterday tried to soothe the nerves of those in her party who fear she is about to sign up to a softer Brexit.

Timetable to salvage our EU exit 

TUESDAY Talks set to resume between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to reach a Brexit deal. 

On the same day, Sir Graham Brady – chairman of the Tories’ 1922 Committee – is expected to meet the Prime Minister and urge her to set a date for her own departure.

FRIDAY This is the last possible date for the Government to bring a Withdrawal Agreement to the Commons in order to avoid a new round of British MEPs taking up their seats in Brussels, according to a Cabinet minister.

THURSDAY, MAY 23 European elections to take place in the UK, barring a (seemingly impossible) swift deal.

SUNDAY, MAY 26 Counting starts for the European elections. The results, like last week’s, are set to be devastating for both Labour and the Conservatives.

TUESDAY, JULY 2 Members of European Parliament take their seats. Mrs May hopes the UK will have finally left the EU by then…

In an article for the Mail on Sunday, she wrote: ‘If we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead. This is because no Parliament can bind its successor.

‘Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

‘The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.’

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell yesterday signalled that his party was prepared to demand more concessions in return for agreeing to support the EU withdrawal agreement.

He hinted again that the party would demand a second referendum, telling the BBC: ‘The Conservatives have to recognise that if a deal is going to go through there might be a large number of MPs who will want a public vote.’

He also voiced concerns that any agreement could be ripped by Mrs May’s successor.

‘In the wings, if you like, are all the leadership candidates virtually threatening to tear up whatever deal that we do,’ he said.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has hinted Labour will demand a second referendum

‘So we’re dealing with a very unstable Government and let me just use this analogy: it’s trying to enter into a contract with a company that’s going into administration and the people who are going to take over are not willing to fulfil that contract. We can’t negotiate like that.’

Mr McDonnell said he had no trust in Mrs May after details of the talks appeared to have been briefed to Sunday newspapers.

He said: ‘We have maintained confidentiality as that is what we were asked to do. We haven’t briefed the media. So it is disappointing the prime minister has broken that, and I think it is an act of bad faith. I fully understand now why she couldn’t negotiate a decent deal with our European partners if she behaves in this way.’

The ‘big, bold’ offer to Labour, when talks between the two sides resume on Tuesday, will reportedly centre on a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU; alignment with many single-market regulations on goods; and an offer to enshrine in law dynamic alignment with EU legislation on workers’ rights. 

Yesterday, Tory Eurosceptics lined up to warn the Prime Minister of the consequences of a deal with Labour.

Nigel Evans MP told Sky News: ‘I know that Leave voters are sometimes typified as a bit thick, but we are not and we can smell what Brexit-in-name-only is like. People will punish us further.

‘We had an earthquake on Thursday throughout the entire country in the local elections and on May 23 [the European elections] that will be followed by a tsunami if both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party together try to push through some sort of Brexit-in-name-only. We all know that a customs union is not Brexit.’

Nigel Evans has warned Theresa May of the consequences of making a Brexit deal with Labour

Mr Evans, who is secretary of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, said Mrs May ‘should stop listening to the advisers that tell you to dilute Brexit, listen to the 17.4million who voted Leave’.

Lee Rowley, Tory MP for North East Derbyshire, tweeted: ‘My message to Theresa May: stop this madness. People didn’t vote for you to do a deal with a Marxist. Fix the backstop and stop wasting time.’

Their warnings came after Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922, said the consequences of a cross-party deal would be ‘unthinkable’.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, he wrote: ‘The temptation for the Government now to do whatever is necessary to secure some kind of Brexit agreement is obvious – but it must be resisted. To reach agreement with Labour that locked the UK into the customs union might pull in enough Labour votes to allow an agreement to limp over the line, but the price could be a catastrophic split in the Conservative Party.’

Could these three olive branches convince Corbyn? 

CUSTOMS UNION

THE Prime Minister is apparently willing to offer a ‘comprehensive but temporary’ customs union to break the deadlock.

The deal would last until the next general election, scheduled for 2022. It would probably be called a ‘customs arrangement’ to make it more palatable to Tory MPs, following repeated promises that Britain would leave and strike its own trade deals.

SINGLE MARKET ON GOODS

TORY negotiators could agree to align the UK with single market rules on a wide range of goods, forcing manufacturers to follow Brussels’ lead.

Many Brexit supporters would not be happy with this as they think it is unfair to make UK businesses adhere to the EU’s rules even if they do not export their goods to the EU itself.

WORKERS’ RIGHTS

THERESA May could promise to enshrine in law a pledge that British workers’ rights would match those in the EU – known as ‘dynamic’ alignment.

Labour has long feared Brexit will lead to new laws forcing us to work longer, or curtailing rights. However, many Tories claim EU rules make it harder for UK firms to compete with the US and the Far East.

As pressure on May grows, the leadership beauty parade gets into full swing 

As the heat on Theresa May intensified over the weekend, her would-be successors were quick to show their leadership credentials.

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab yesterday stepped up his campaign with a glossy magazine interview.

On Saturday, Environment Secretary Michael Gove gave an interview in which he posed with his parents Christine and Ernest, in Aberdeen, before he went to speak at the Scottish Tory conference.

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has stepped up his leadership campaign with a glossy magazine interview

Michael Gove gave an interview in which he posed with his parents Christine and Ernest in Aberdeen

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a keen rider, burnished his credentials by posing with a horse in photographs to accompany a newspaper interview.

‘We need to deliver Brexit and then turn the page,’ he told The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, despite only having been appointed to the Cabinet days ago, Rory Stewart declared he would run when a contest takes place.

The maneuvers came as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt returned from a week-long tour of Africa with his wife Lucia, who he described as his ‘secret weapon’. 

At the weekend, Mrs May’s Tory Brexit critics warned they would launch another bid to oust her unless she sets a date for her departure within days.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a keen rider, burnished his credentials by posing with a horse in photographs to accompany a newspaper interview

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, is due to meet the Prime Minister this week to discuss her exit plan.

Mr Raab posed with his wife Erika in their kitchen as he set out his stall with promises including taking a penny off the basic rate of income tax. 

Speaking to The Sunday Times Magazine, he said he would focus on tax cuts for low and middle income families.

He also talked of hopes for all fathers to have the right to two weeks’ paternity leave at 90 per cent pay and a change in the law to ensure new or expectant mothers cannot be made redundant during pregnancy or maternity leave.

Mr Raab has already gained the support of fellow former Brexit secretary David Davis, who revealed in Saturday’s Daily Mail that he would back the 45-year-old. 

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt returned from a week-long tour of Africa with his wife Lucia, who he described as his ‘secret weapon’

Tory former Cabinet minister Maria Miller, chairman of the women and equalities select committee, yesterday added her support to Mr Raab’s bid, saying he has the ‘right ideas’ for the future of the party.

Meanwhile, Mr Stewart yesterday said he believed it was better to be honest about his leadership ambitions.

Asked if he would throw his hat in the ring, he told Sky News: ‘Yes, but I am now so excited to be the International Development Secretary.’ He described holding the position as ‘the greatest gift on Earth’.

He added: ‘You have just got to be straight. If people feel that they would like to get into that competition, they should say so and we should talk about what we believe in. 

‘I think talking about what we believe in matters in everyday life but it also matters just in doing good policy.’

After a botched leadership challenge last December, Mrs May was supposed to be immune to removal for 12 months.

But a group of Tory MPs, led by 1922 Committee secretary Nigel Evans, want to change the rules so they can trigger another confidence vote in her immediately. 

Mr Evans told the BBC: ‘I’m sure the conversation will continue if we’ve not been given a clear lead by the PM through Sir Graham as to the timetable for her departure.’

In the wake of the local elections, which saw the party lose more than 1,300 councillors, Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, called on the 1922 Committee to force out Mrs May if she is unwilling to quit. ‘We have to make a change,’ he told LBC.

A survey by political blog Conservative Home yesterday found that 82 per cent of party members want Mrs May to stand down and call a leadership election.

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