Tobias Ellwood hints that Brexit should be delayed

Another minister hints that Brexit should be DELAYED after Amber Rudd said 40 ministers could QUIT if May orders them to vote against move blocking no deal

  • Tobias Ellwood said the decision to delay Brexit is like cooking a cake longer
  • Amber Rudd warned ministers will quit if they are not given free vote on no deal
  • Remainer MPs have tabled amendments to try to water down or stop Brexit
  • Theresa May is gathering her Cabinet for more Brexit crisis talks this morning  
  • e-mail

6

View
comments


Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood (pictured at Tory party conference in Birmingham in October) last night broke ranks with Theresa May to hint that Brexit should be delayed

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood last night broke ranks with Theresa May to hint that Brexit should be delayed.

The frontbencher suggested it was an easy decision – comparing the dilemma over whether to extend Article 50 to cooking a cake for a bit longer if it is underdone.

His outspoken intervention came as Mrs May was in the House of Commons telling MPs that she remains steadfastly opposed to delaying Brexit.

Meanwhile, Remainer minister Amber Rudd has reportedly warned No10 that 40 ministers could quit if they are not allowed a free vote on extending Article 50.

Tweeting a photo of his son eating a piece of banana cake at the kitchen table, Mr Ellwood added the message: ‘Cooked a banana cake yesterday. 

‘Told my son it will be ready in 20 mins – according to the cookbook. It took 30. 

‘It was a big decision – honouring the cookbook or take more time to get the right result.’ 

  • Tory rebels panic as ‘Europhile Kamikaze’ plot to delay… Jubilant People’s Vote campaigners seize on Corbyn’s shift…

Share this article

Mr Ellwood is the latest in a string of frontbenchers to break with the PM as the Tory Party civil war on Brexit continues to rage. 

Business Minister Richard Harrington has hinted he could quit to block a no deal Brexit and yesterday branded the prospect an ‘absolute disaster’ for the country.

Mrs May is scrambling to try to get her Tory backbenchers and DUP back on side to back her Brexit plan. 


Tobias Ellwood suggested it was an easy decision – comparing the dilemma over whether to extend Article 50 to cooking a cake for a bit longer if it is underdone


Theresa May (pictured in the Commons last night) and her senior ministers will take stock of the high drama at Westminster as the battle over leaving the EU reaches its endgame

But she was yesterday accused of having run out of ideas after she unveiled her Brexit Plan B – and it looked a lot like her Plan A. 

What is Tuesday’s Plan B vote and what will it mean?

What is happening? 

Because Theresa May’s Brexit deal was defeated, the law says she must tell Parliament what her Plan B is.

This has to be done in a motion to the Commons, which will be voted on by MPs next Tuesday night.

That motion can be re-written by MPs if they table amendments and win a vote in favour of them.

Some amendments have already been tabled and MPs can keep producing them until Monday night.

What does May’s plan say? 

It promises more cross-party working, renews commitments to protecting workers’ rights after Brexit and says the PM will ask Brussels for more concessions on the backstop.

It it based on the current deal that was crushed by 230 votes last week.

What do the main amendments say? 

Jeremy Corbyn’s amendment says Parliament should vote on ‘options’ including a renegotiation of the deal to get a permanent customs union and for a second referendum. 

A cross party amendment from Yvette Cooper and Nicky Morgan seeks to block no deal by giving time to a draft law that would require the Government to delay Brexit if a deal has not been agreed by February 26.

An amendment from Tory rebel Dominic Grieve seeks to set up a full-blown ‘indicative vote’ on a range of options – likely to be from no deal to no Brexit, via a Norway-style deal and a Canada-style deal, and a second referendum. His amendments sets aside six named days for the debates – including as late as March 26. 

What would the vote do? 

Legally nothing – but if the Commons votes in favour of a clear way forward by a majority it will be a major political signal of what might happen.

Is it a new ‘meaningful vote’ that can approve May’s deal? 

No. At some point, the PM will have to stage a repeat of last week’s vote to get explicit approval from MPs to go ahead with her deal if she wants it to survive. 

She vowed to oppose delaying Brexit and a second referendum, and said she plans to go back to Brussels to try to get major new concessions on the hated backstop.

Under the current agreement, the UK will remain tied to the EU customs union and extra single market checks will be carried out in Northern Ireland if no trade deal can be done in time.

But the proposal effectively torpedoed the deal as the DUP and many Tory backbenchers refused to back it – saying it threatened the integrity of the UK. 

Business Minister Richard Harrington yesterday said a no deal Brexit would be an ‘absolute disaster’ after hinting he could quit to try to block it.   

Speaking yesterday morning, he said: ‘I’ve seen what may well happen with this cut-off date, crashing out in my view… is an absolute disaster.

‘It’s not a road to a free trade agreement, it’s not a road to anything. It’s an absolute disaster for the country and it’s supported by a minority of a minority of people.

MPs will next Tuesday vote on the PM’s Plan B – and Remainer politicians have tabled a string of amendments to seize control of the crunch talks from No10. 

Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Tory MP Nicky Morgan have teamed up to table an amendment to block a no deal Brexit in March by extending Article 50 until the end of the year.

While leading Tory Remainer rebel Dominic Grieve seeks to set up a full-blown ‘indicative vote’ on a range of options.

This is likely to be from no deal to no Brexit, via a Norway-style deal and a Canada-style deal, and a second referendum. 

The push by Remainer rebels to try to water-down or stop Brexit altogether has sparked panic among Tory Brexiteers and the DUP.  

As pressure grew, Tory MP Nadine Dorries last night said her Brexiteer colleagues were realising that they must support Mrs May’s plan to avoid ‘Europhile Kamikaze MPs’ taking charge.

The DUP’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson also indicated his party – which is propping up Mrs May in power – could support an Irish border backstop if it had a unilateral exit clause.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said he believed there had been ‘movement’ over recent days.

However, it is still far from clear whether Mrs May will be able to wring enough concessions out of the EU to satisfy the Eurosceptics. 

Mrs May is gathering her Cabinet this morning for more Brexit crisis talks. 

What ministers have indicated they could quit to block a no deal Brexit 

Amber Rudd, Home Secretary

Richard Harrington, Business Minister

Steve Brine, Health Minister

David Gauke, Justice Minister 

Robert Buckland, Solicitor General

Tobias Ellwood, Defence Minister

Speaking on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Ms Dorries – previously an outspoken critic of Mrs May – suggested she would ‘swallow her pride’ to support her deal if it comes to a vote again. 

‘I can feel a growing consensus among a number of MPs who in the light of being faced with these Europhile Kamikaze MPs who really don’t care about their careers going up in flames, who want to overturn Parliamentary tradition in order to stop Brexit,’ Ms Dorries said. 

‘I think many people are now realising that we would support this deal in order to get it over the line.

‘Because every day here is a dangerous day at the moment. 

‘We may have to see that this is a deal, we will have to swallow our pride, swallow what we would prefer, and vote for it.’     


Source: Read Full Article