Former Tory cabinet ministers warn Theresa May that her job is at risk

March 11, 2019

Former Tory cabinet ministers warn Theresa May that her job is at risk if the Prime Minister fails to get her Brexit deal through the Commons

Dominic Raab and Nicky Morgan raised doubts PM could remain if voted down
Aides are now ‘resigned’ to Mrs May setting departure date to get deal through
Mrs May has said if the Government loses tomorrow there will be further votes

Theresa May was last night warned her position will become untenable if MPs reject her deal and succeed in delaying Brexit.

Former Tory Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Nicky Morgan raised doubts she could remain if her withdrawal agreement is voted down tomorrow.

Downing Street aides are now ‘resigned’ to Mrs May having to set out her departure date in an attempt to get her deal through the Commons, Cabinet sources revealed.

But former Brexit secretary David Davis dismissed the suggestion that the promise of an exit plan would be enough to persuade rebel Tories to support her withdrawal agreement.

Theresa May was last night warned her position will become untenable if MPs reject her deal and succeed in delaying Brexit

Mrs May has said if the Government loses tomorrow, there will be further votes on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal or seek an extension to negotiations beyond the March 29 exit date.

Former education secretary Nicky Morgan yesterday said it would be the ‘beginning of the end’ if MPs end up voting for a delay to the Article 50 process.

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She told Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: ‘I think that her position is going to become slowly less and less tenable as Parliament changes the Government’s Brexit policy.

‘If the votes go this week in a way which means that the Prime Minister’s policy as she has set out and stuck to rigidly over the course of the last two-and-a-bit a years is taken away, dismantled slowly by Parliament this week, I think it would be very difficult for the Prime Minister to stay in office for very much longer.’

Mrs Morgan, who has said she will vote for the Brexit deal tomorrow, said it may be up to the Cabinet to tell Mrs May that the time has come for her to go.

‘They are going to have to take a role in saying potentially to the Prime Minister, “Actually, things have changed significantly. We think you should think about your position, Prime Minister”,’ she added.

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who quit over the Brussels deal, acknowledged the PM’s position was ‘precarious’ but said it would be even worse if Brexit was delayed.

Mr Raab, who has been touted as a possible successor to Mrs May if she is forced to step down, refused to be drawn on his own leadership ambitions.

But asked if he thought Mrs May would still be Prime Minister by Christmas, he said: ‘I don’t know. She has said she is going to step down. I would like to be able to see her do that in a way which is in the terms of her own choosing. I think the Government has found itself in a precarious situation.

Former Tory Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Nicky Morgan raised doubts she could remain if her withdrawal agreement is voted down tomorrow

‘If the Government extends Article 50 or tries to reverse the Brexit promises that we have made, I think that situation would get even trickier.’

Cabinet ministers have privately floated the idea of Mrs May naming a date for her departure if it persuades hardline Eurosceptics to back her deal.

Some believe the rebels may be tempted by this option in the belief they could install a Brexiteer to take over the second phase of negotiations on the future relationship with the EU.

But Mr Davis rejected the suggestion. The former Brexit secretary told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘No, it won’t work. [It] won’t get the vote through.’

Former Brexit secretary David Davis dismissed the suggestion that the promise of an exit plan would be enough to persuade rebel Tories to support her withdrawal agreement

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also dismissed the idea. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I don’t think that would help… You have got to look at what the public think in many ways. The amount of respect for the PM in the country is incredible. Through this incredibly difficult negotiation and difficult time in politics her dignity and poise has been absolutely remarkable.

‘Many people have been very rude about her, she just lets it pass her by. You can see that she is steadfastly focused on what is in the national interest.’

Mrs May had initially vowed to stay on as Tory leader for the ‘long term’ and fight the next general election in 2022.

In August 2017 the Prime Minister insisted she was ‘not a quitter’ and would remain in office to guide the country through Brexit and beyond.

But as she faced a confidence vote in her leadership in December, Mrs May backtracked and told MPs she would stand down before the next election.

Last month she signalled she would not be quitting immediately after Brexit on March 29.

Labour has abandoned plans to push for a second referendum tomorrow amid fears it would trigger a mass revolt by shadow ministers.

But Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, told Sky there could still be a opportunity this week for MPs to vote for a second poll.

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