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May in fresh standoff with Tory rebels over Brexit demands May in fresh standoff with Tory rebels over Brexit demands
(about 5 hours later)
Theresa May has found herself in a fresh standoff with Conservative rebels after Downing Street signalled it has no intention of discussing a central aspect of their demands. Dominic Grieve, the leader of a group of Conservative rebels on Brexit, is locked in negotiations with the government as Theresa May seeks a form of words on a meaningful vote that will satisfy both sides of her deeply divided party.
More than a dozen MPs who were called into the prime minister’s office in the final minutes of the Brexit debate on Tuesday believed they had received assurances the government would discuss clause C of an amendment tabled by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve. Grieve, the former attorney general, is determined to make it impossible for Britain to crash out of the EU without parliamentary approval. But the Brexit secretary, David Davis, and pro-leave Tory backbenchers are adamantly opposed to anything they believe would tie the government’s hands if talks with Brussels collapse.
As a result, they withdrew their objections and voted with the government, sparing May an embarrassing defeat. The government is expected to table its compromise amendment on Thursday, and MPs will pore over the wording. Peers will then vote on it when the EU withdrawal bill returns to the House of Lords on Monday.
Grieve and the government were expected to negotiate a new amendment, to be tabled when the bill reaches the House of Lords next week. The discussions took place as MPs debated a second set of amendments to the government’s flagship Brexit bill, with backbenchers in both parties disagreeing vehemently with their leaderships.
Clause C is aimed at allowing MPs to give “direction” to the government in the event of no Brexit deal having been reached by mid-February 2019, but Downing Street has signalled it is “not up for discussion”. Grieve was promised negotiations by the prime minister in a personal meeting along with a clutch of fellow rebels in the closing moments of a Commons debate on Tuesday, prompting them to hold their fire and vote with the government.
Some were alarmed on Wednesday when a Downing Street source appeared to suggest the government was not willing to discuss a central aspect of their demands, expressed in clause C of Grieve’s amendment.
Two of the putative rebels, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen, quickly said that did not match their recollection of what had been promised, with Soubry urging the government to “sort it please”.Two of the putative rebels, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen, quickly said that did not match their recollection of what had been promised, with Soubry urging the government to “sort it please”.
For the avoidance of doubt the PM said yesterday that clause c of Dominic Grieves amendment would be discussed as part of the new amendment to be tabled in the Lords. If the PM goes back on that there will be no agreed amendment that I can support #sortitpleaseFor the avoidance of doubt the PM said yesterday that clause c of Dominic Grieves amendment would be discussed as part of the new amendment to be tabled in the Lords. If the PM goes back on that there will be no agreed amendment that I can support #sortitplease
Speaking at prime minister’s questions, May said the government intended to bring forward its own amendment, but stressed that she could not allow MPs to bind the government’s hands or to open it up to the risk that Brexit could be reversed. Later in the day, both sides said they were more hopeful of achieving a compromise, with Grieve describing the talks as “sensible”.
A statement from the Department for Exiting the European Union on Tuesday said David Davis had set three tests for any new amendment: not undermining the negotiations; not changing the constitutional role of parliament and government in negotiating international treaties; and respecting the referendum result. May is trying to walk a political tightrope between Grieve and his colleagues, who are anxious about the risk of a no-deal Brexit, and well-drilled agitators on the leave wing of her party, who are urging her not to make too many compromises.
The statement said: “We have not, and will not, agree to the House of Commons binding the government’s hands in the negotiations.” Privately the Brexiters continue to insist the parliamentary arithmetic is less tight than the chief whip Julian Smith fears, and that the government can defeat the rebels without making major concessions.
The rebels said on Tuesday they were told the promise made by the prime minister was “a matter of trust”. But Brexiters reacted with fury to the idea that MPs could be allowed to constrain the government’s ability to leave the EU without a deal, if it believes that is the right course. At prime minister’s questions, May said the government intended to bring forward its own amendment, but stressed that she could not allow MPs to bind the government’s hands or to open it up to the risk that Brexit could be reversed.
After PMQs, a No 10 source was asked if that meant, “as far as the government’s concerned, clause C is not up for discussion as part of this amendment?” He replied: “I think that’s a fair assessment”. “I am absolutely clear that I cannot countenance parliament being able to overturn the will of the British people. Parliament gave the decision to the British people, the British people voted to leave the European Union, and as prime minister I am determined to deliver that,” she said.
Earlier, the former education secretary Nicky Morgan urged the prime minister to stand by assurances she gave to Conservative MPs, or the Lords may bring a new amendment for rebels to back, leading members of the group have said. After PMQs, a No 10 source was asked whether her remarks meant that “as far as the government is concerned, clause C is not up for discussion as part of this amendment.” The source replied: “I think that’s a fair assessment.”
Morgan said if a compromise amendment did not emerge, rebels could work with the Lords to ensure the changes took place. Grieve and his colleagues insist they have no intention of seeking to overturn the referendum result.
“I think it would be fairly certain that one of the members of the House of Lords would find a way to put down Dominic’s original wording, that couldn’t be voted on yesterday. So we are partway through discussions and there is more to come,” she said. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the pro-Brexit chair of the backbench European Research Group, said: “It is absolutely essential that the separation of powers should be observed and that it should be made clear in any compromise amendment that the job of the government and the job of parliament are different.”
The solicitor general, Robert Buckland, who intervened from the dispatch box to offer the last-minute concessions that led to the would-be rebels’ meeting with the prime minister, suggested that there would be no further compromise on clause C, contrary to what MPs say they were told. A statement from the Department for Exiting the European Union on Tuesday said Davis had set three tests for any new amendment: not undermining the negotiations; not changing the constitutional role of parliament and government in negotiating international treaties; and respecting the referendum result.
“I have a problem both constitutionally and politically with a direction given by parliament, which is the end part of Dominic Grieve’s amendment,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. The high stakes for May were underlined by warnings from the rebels that the promise made by the prime minister was “a matter of trust”.
“There’s a reasonable expectation that something will emerge, but I need to work on that and more importantly work with colleagues to come up with something.” The former education secretary Nicky Morgan said that if a compromise amendment did not emerge, rebels could work with the Lords to ensure the changes took place.
Morgan, who met the prime minister along with Grieve and a dozen more MPs including Sarah Wollaston, Antoinette Sandbach, George Freeman and Justine Greening, said there had been specific assurances as discussions came “down to the wire”. “I think it would be fairly certain that one of the members of the House of Lords would find a way to put down Dominic’s original wording that couldn’t be voted on yesterday. So we are partway through discussions and there is more to come,” she said.
“The prime minister conceded she understood points A and B of the Dominic Grieve amendment and there will be further discussions on C, with a view on bringing the amendment in the House of Lords, so that will be discussed further,” she said. May was challenged by Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs over the government’s continued failure to make progress on deciding what post-Brexit customs arrangements it wants to negotiate for.
“The gap is: what happens if there is no deal? How does parliament have a say in those circumstances? I think that is very important that our sovereign parliament gets to express its opinion.” He sought to embarrass the prime minister by quoting several of the leaked comments made by the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, at a private dinner for Tory donors last week.
Morgan admitted there was a part of the Grieve amendment that “does go further” than the prime minister was prepared to accept but said they had not been played. “When the prime minister met President Donald Trump last week, did she do as the foreign secretary suggested and ask him to take over the Brexit negotiations?” the Labour leader asked, prompting a long pause from May and cheers from his own MPs.
“I don’t think that’s right,” she said. “Part of the reason we had the meeting with the prime minister and the chief whip is we have had undertakings given at the dispatch box, which have not been fulfilled ... it was the prime minister’s personal assurance that was important to us.” May conceded that the government’s promised Brexit white paper would now not be published until July, after she has gathered her ministers together at her country retreat of Chequers for a second awayday to thrash out their differences.
Government sources said the cabinet breakout groups that have been discussing the two rival options for future customs arrangements have met this week, with little sign of any resolution.
Brexiters including Johnson and Davis are keen on the idea of a “max-fac” approach, using technology to avoid a hard border in Ireland, while colleagues including the chancellor, Philip Hammond, and the business secretary, Greg Clark, prefer a customs partnership.
Johnson and Hammond sat alongside each other on the frontbench for PMQs, just behind the prime minister, and Corbyn reminded her that Johnson had referred to the Treasury as “the heart of remain”.
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