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| Senior Tories fear deselection of MPs may threaten party's future | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Senior Tories have privately voiced serious concern about the future of the party if more than a dozen of its most prominent MPs are deselected, as Philip Hammond clashed with Boris Johnson in a fiery meeting at Downing Street ahead of the former chancellor’s planned rebellion in the Commons. | |
| On Tuesday two of the party’s leading centrist voices, Justine Greening and Alistair Burt, announced they would stand down at the next election, and the former justice minister Phillip Lee defected to the Lib Dems, all saying they saw no future in the party and condemning its direction under Johnson. | |
| At least 14 Conservative MPs have publicly committed to backing efforts on Tuesday night to prevent the UK leaving the EU without a deal, including the former cabinet ministers Hammond, David Gauke, Rory Stewart, Caroline Nokes and Greening – despite threats they will lose the Conservative whip and lead to an early general election. | |
| Others include the former ministers Guto Bebb, Dominic Grieve, Sam Gyimah, Richard Harrington, Oliver Letwin, Antoinette Sandbach and Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill. | |
| At least six others, including the former business secretary Greg Clark, the former health ministers Stephen Hammond, Steve Brine and Anne Milton, the former digital minister Margot James and the backbencher Jonathan Djanogly, are understood to be seriously considering joining the rebellion. | |
| Friends of Clark, who has not commented publicly, said he would vote on Tuesday night consistent with his view that no deal would be a disaster for Britain and was undeterred by threats of deselection. | |
| “If anything, those threats have made it more difficult for MPs to back down, because if you decide to back the government in that circumstance, you are effectively saying you value your career over your principles,” one MP said. | |
| Greening said it had become “clear to me that my concerns about the Conservative party becoming the Brexit party have come to pass”. Burt, one of the key sponsors of the rebel bill, said he had a “fundamental and unresolvable disagreement with party leadership on the manner in which we leave the EU”. | |
| Earlier, Hammond gave a furious interview to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, saying he was gearing up for the “fight of a lifetime”, including preparing to take the Conservative party to court if Johnson deselected him as a candidate. | |
| Who are the Tory rebel MPs? | Who are the Tory rebel MPs? |
| The last-ditch meeting, which included Hammond, Clark, James, Soames, Burt and Milton, was convened by Johnson at No 10 on Tuesday morning in an attempt to convince waverers about the implications of the bill and the negotiation progress. | |
| A source close to the rebel group said the prime minister’s explanation was “unconvincing” about how a deal could be ratified, legally drafted, and legislated in the very short time frame when parliament is not prorogued. | A source close to the rebel group said the prime minister’s explanation was “unconvincing” about how a deal could be ratified, legally drafted, and legislated in the very short time frame when parliament is not prorogued. |
| Downing Street sources said officials had hit back at Hammond, saying he had been advised when he was in cabinet that the process could be done in as little as 17 days. | Downing Street sources said officials had hit back at Hammond, saying he had been advised when he was in cabinet that the process could be done in as little as 17 days. |
| However, several Tory MPs were also left concerned that there was no new information provided on how an alternative to the backstop had been devised and whether it had been provided to the EU, despite contributions in the meetings by Johnson’s EU negotiator, David Frost, who insisted the government was seeing movement on the Irish side. | |
| The culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, who has been sceptical about no deal, also told MPs they would have time to act before the deadline. | |
| One government official said there had been a “genuine breadth of opinion in the room … some wanted to be convinced that a deal is possible and the prime minister made clear that the deal before the house will wreck that chance.” | One government official said there had been a “genuine breadth of opinion in the room … some wanted to be convinced that a deal is possible and the prime minister made clear that the deal before the house will wreck that chance.” |
| However, one rebel source said that assertion was challenged and that “no convincing proof was given that a real negotiation is taking place”. | However, one rebel source said that assertion was challenged and that “no convincing proof was given that a real negotiation is taking place”. |
| The source also called it “a deliberate and willing misinterpretation” of the bill to suggest it would hand power to Jeremy Corbyn, saying it gave the government “maximum flexibility to achieve a deal”. | The source also called it “a deliberate and willing misinterpretation” of the bill to suggest it would hand power to Jeremy Corbyn, saying it gave the government “maximum flexibility to achieve a deal”. |
| In a direct exchange with the prime minister, Hammond said rebels did not believe there was a serious negotiating strategy or team in place, or that the government would keep its word about the election date, a concern that one official likened to “a conspiracy theory”. | In a direct exchange with the prime minister, Hammond said rebels did not believe there was a serious negotiating strategy or team in place, or that the government would keep its word about the election date, a concern that one official likened to “a conspiracy theory”. |
| Hammond also challenged Johnson on his claim that the EU can apply conditions to any extension. “Philip made the point that the EU cannot – according to law, and to conversations he had with EU officials when he was in office,” one source said. | Hammond also challenged Johnson on his claim that the EU can apply conditions to any extension. “Philip made the point that the EU cannot – according to law, and to conversations he had with EU officials when he was in office,” one source said. |
| In turn, Johnson and Michael Gove argued that the bill as it stood could lead only to indefinite uncertainty, suggesting it would inevitably result in a second referendum or the revoking of article 50, which rebel Tories have claimed they do not want. | In turn, Johnson and Michael Gove argued that the bill as it stood could lead only to indefinite uncertainty, suggesting it would inevitably result in a second referendum or the revoking of article 50, which rebel Tories have claimed they do not want. |
| Philip Hammond | Philip Hammond |
| Boris Johnson | Boris Johnson |
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