Furious Tories stepped up their attack on Theresa May’s ‘Hotel California’ Brexit today amid threats of a no-confidence vote next week.
The Prime Minister is facing intense pressure to change course after a series of resignations – with two party chiefs following Boris Johnson and David Davis out of the door last night.
But she has vowed to push ahead with the blueprint despite an ultimatum from Eurosceptics that they will launch a ‘guerrilla war’ against her premiership. They have warned a ‘Hotel California’ arrangement – where the UK checks out but never really leaves – is completely unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is said to be ‘keeping his powder dry’ ahead of an expected challenge to Mrs May.
Former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague tried to shore up the PM today, warning rebels that voting against a final deal could stop Brexit altogether and ‘endanger everything they have been trying to achieve’.
The Prime Minister (pictured at the NATO summit in Brussels today) is facing intense pressure to change course after a series of resignations – with two party chiefs following Boris Johnson and David Davis out of the door
Boris Johnson (pictured leaving his London home today) dramatically resigned in protest at Mrs May’s Brexit plan
Tory MP Henry Smith made a point by turning down an invite to watch the England match at Downing Street tonight
The peer said he did not think that a free trade agreement alone would solve the twin issues of keeping the Irish border open and keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
‘When it comes to a vote sometime around the end of this year, let us say that Theresa May has done a deal that bears some resemblance to what was put forward at Chequers with the EU,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘If anyone in the Conservative Party is then thinking about voting that down, that is the point at which they are going to endanger everything they have been trying to achieve.
‘There is a whole range of scenarios in which they get no Brexit, or an indefinitely delayed Brexit, or a change of government or a second referendum.
‘It would be hard to say at this moment what the consequences would be, but the consequences would be very serious for delivering Brexit.’
As tensions escalated, a former minister warned many Tories had ‘real concerns’ about the direction of Brexit after two party vice-chairs quit over her Chequers plan for leaving the EU.
Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield said that Mrs May’s plans for close links with Europe after Brexit risked handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to 10 Downing Street as they resigned their posts.
Backbencher Andrew Bridgen sent a letter of no confidence in Mrs May to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.
Brexiteer Andrea Jenkyns, a vocal critic of Mrs May, said it was time to ‘put country first’.
David Davis’s former chief of staff said the deal put together at Chequers amounted to a ‘Hotel California’ Brexit – where Britain checks out but never really leaves
Mrs May initially secured support from ministers at her Chequers summit (pictured) but it has now sparked a slew of resignations
She told BBC Two’s Newsnight: ‘I think if the Prime Minister makes further concessions with the EU then there will no doubt be more resignations from Brexiteers in the Cabinet, from junior ministers to PPSs because there is only so much that you can give in a negotiation.’
Tory former minister Mark Francois said a confidence vote in the PM was not the ‘right thing to do’.
But he warned he felt ‘very strongly about the future of my country’ and said Tories had ‘real concerns’ about the direction of Brexit.
He told the programme: ‘What we are trying to do is not open revolt but we are trying to tell the Prime Minister and the Cabinet that we have got real concerns about where this is going.
‘We want to hold the party together and so we would like those concerns seriously to be taken into account.
‘I don’t think that’s an unreasonable proposition.’
Stewart Jackson, former special adviser to David Davis, said No 10 had blocked his reappointment in the role under new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.
He accused No10 and Mrs May’s aide Olly Robbins of putting together a ‘Hotel California Brexit’ at Chequers – meaning the UK would check out but never leave.
One disgruntled Tory MP declined an invitation to watch England’s World Cup semi-final clash with Croatia at 10 Downing Street because of his dissatisfaction with Mrs May’s Brexit plans.
Crawley MP Henry Smith posted his invitation from Chief Whip Julian Smith on Twitter, adding: ‘Received this invite to watch tomorrow’s England-Croatia World Cup semi-final in 10 Downing Street.
‘Seeing as the Prime Minister isn’t bringing Brexit home I’m concerned attending would be a bad omen for football coming home … I’ll pass.’
Mrs May is in Brussels for a Nato meeting which is also being attended by US President Donald Trump, who described the UK as being in ‘turmoil’ after the resignations of Boris Johnson and Mr Davis from Cabinet.
The PM will hold a regional Cabinet in Newcastle in July, which is likely to include discussions about Brexit.