By Daniel Hordon, Past Senior Editor
Theresa May has been warned of senior resignations from within her own party if she fails to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
Theresa May has been warned of senior resignations from within her own party if she fails to rule out a no-deal Brexit after she made a statement in the Commons yesterday on her plan-B for Brexit. She has faced criticism that nothing had actually changed with this plan. Mrs May’s Brexit deal was voted down in the Commons last week by an historic margin of 230 votes meaning she has been forced to reconsider how she delivers Brexit.
The work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd is said to have warned number 10 last night that up to 40 ministers could resign if they are not allowed to vote freely on a cross-party amendment which would aim to extend Article 50 until the end of the year if there is no deal in place by the end of February. Mrs May even faces opposition on her failure to rule out no-deal from senior party allies including the chancellor Philip Hammond, Mrs Rudd and Justice Secretary David Gauke.
The Prime Minister has also faced opposition and criticism from across the House after her statement in the Commons yesterday left few questions answered on the details of her plan-B. Tory rebel MP Sarah Wollaston tweeted yesterday to say “Plan B is Plan A”.
Some changes in policy included scrapping the £65 fee that European citizens would have had to pay to stay in the UK after Brexit. Furthermore, the PM promised protections for workers’ and human rights and environmental policy which will be UK controlled after Brexit. The latter announcement was designed to suppress rumours earlier in the week that Mrs May was considering removing the Human Rights Act.
Last week after her original plan was defeated, Mrs May had asked for the House to come together to solve Brexit however Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to engage in talks until she took a no-deal Brexit off the table. Corbyn branded her wishes to talk to opposition parties as a “PR sham” in his response to her statement yesterday after it was said that she had given in on receiving such a cross-party consensus in favour of winning over rebel Tory MPs.
In an amendment tabled by the official opposition of Monday night, Labour have opened up the option of a second referendum on Brexit as MPs would be required to vote on possible options for moving forwards. Corbyn told MPs yesterday that the amendment would “end this Brexit deadlock and prevent the chaos of a no-deal [...] while keeping all options on the table, including the option of a public vote”. The move comes amid increasing pressure from Labour party members for a shift in policy to advocate a second referendum or ‘people’s vote’ as opposed to current policy which is aiming for a snap general election.
Meanwhile, an amendment tabled by Yvette Cooper is gaining support in the House with MPs from across five parties supporting it. The amendment, if successful, would mean that MPs could effectively take control of Brexit from government in an attempt for MPs from across the Commons to come to an agreement on the withdrawal agreement.
Labour MP Hilary Benn has also tabled an amendment calling for a series of ‘indicative votes’ on the options facing the government. Like an opinion poll of MPs, these would indicate to the government what there is support for in the Commons and therefore what version of the deal would be most likely to be passed.
Theresa May still insists that another referendum is not an option that the government will consider despite increasing backing for the so-called people’s vote. In her statement yesterday she told MPs that a second referendum would “set a difficult precedent that could have significant implications for how we handle referendums in this country.”
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