May faces crisis as poll shows just 12% back her Brexit fudge

Theresa May faces a deepening political crisis as a poll showed voters oppose her Brexit plans – and are ready shift to the hard right.

Just 12 per cent said the compromise solution being championed by the PM would be good for Britain.

In a particularly stinging finding, the research found that twice as many people thought Boris Johnson would do a better job in Downing Street.

Mrs May is battling to hold the Tories together as she desperately scrambles to put together a deal with the EU.

Mr Johnson and David Davis both quit Cabinet after the premier forced through a compromise plan through at a Chequers summit for ministers a fortnight ago.

According to a YouGov poll for the Sunday Times, just 12 per cent of the public think the Chequers plan would be good for Britain, while 43 per cent disagree

Theresa May, pictured at church in her Maidenhead constituency today with husband Philip, is battling to hold the Tories together as she desperately scrambles to put together a deal with the EU

But Mr Davis’s replacement as Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab admitted today that he is still trying to win over some doubtful Cabinet ministers to the proposals – which would see the UK obey a ‘common rule book’ with Brussels and collect some taxes on behalf of the bloc.

Meanwhile, Mr Davis has waded back into the row by urging Mrs May to rip up her plans altogether and start again.

The proposals also do not appeared to have delivered the breakthrough with the EU that Mrs May had hoped – as fears rise of a no-deal Brexit.

Michel Barnier gave the plans short shrift a a brutal press conference on Friday, suggesting they would be unacceptable.

According to a YouGov poll for the Sunday Times, just 12 per cent of the public think the Chequers plan would be good for Britain, while 43 per cent disagree.

Some 16 per cent of voters think Mrs May is handling negotiations well – compared to 34 per cent who believe former foreign secretary Mr Johnson (pictured in London last week) would do a better job

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured left) admitted today that he is still trying to win over some doubtful Cabinet ministers to the Chequers proposals. The EU’s Michel Barnier (right) gave the plans short shrift at a brutal press conference in Brussels on Friday

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis has unleashed another salvo at the PM’s compromise blueprint for future trade

Some 16 per cent of voters think Mrs May is handling negotiations well – compared to 34 per cent who believe former foreign secretary Mr Johnson would do a better job.

Around 38 per cent would vote for a new party on the right that was committed to Brexit.

John Major says fresh Brexit referendum is ‘morally justified’

Remainers have stepped up calls for a second referendum on Brexit today.

Tory ex-PM Sir John Major repeated his view that another national ballot would be ‘morally justified’.

‘It has downsides. I mean, frankly, a second vote has democratic downsides. It has difficulties,’ he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show .

‘But is it morally justified? I think it is.

‘If you look back at the Leave campaign a great many of the promises they made were fantasy promises.

‘We now know they are not going to be met.’

Referring to the ‘irreconcilable’ stance taken by hardline Tory Brexiteers, Sir John said: ‘That has boxed the Government and particularly the Prime Minister into a corner.

‘They are a minority of the House of Commons, a substantial minority of the House of Commons, but they are larger than the Government’s majority.

‘The danger at the moment is that they will frustrate every move the Government seek to make and by accident, because nothing can be agreed, we will crash out without a deal.’

Some 24 per cent would be prepared to support an explicitly far-right anti-immigrant, anti-Islam party.

But in a sign of the increasingly polarised state of the UK, one in three voters would be prepared to back a new anti-Brexit centrist party.

In an interview with the Sunday Express, Mr Davis – who quit a fortnight ago in protest at Mrs May’s approach – predicted negotiations with the EU would remain deadlocked.

‘We’re going to have to do a reset and come back and look at it all again,’ he said.

‘I think when we get to the autumn, if we are in the situation where we don’t have any degree of agreement, we’re going to have to start again.’

Mr Davis urged ministers to draw up fresh proposals based on an amalgamation of the ‘best bits’ of deals the EU has already struck with other countries, such as Canada, South Korea, Switzerland and New Zealand.

But he said preparations for no deal need to accelerate from the current position of ‘consult and cajole’ to ‘command and control’.

‘By the end of the summer it should be plain we are making proper preparations for this,’ he said.

Mr Raab upped the ante in negotiations by warning the UK could refuse to pay its £39billion divorce bill to Brussels if it does not get a trade deal.

He warned there would be ‘conditionality’ under the Article 50 withdrawal mechanism between settling Britain’s exit payment and creating a new relationship with the EU.

But he indicated he was still trying to persuade all members of the Cabinet that Theresa May’s Chequers agreement was ‘the best plan to get the best deal’.

He said: ‘Article 50 requires, as we negotiate the withdrawal agreement, that there’s a future framework for our new relationship going forward, so the two are linked.

Tory former PM Sir John Major insisted on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show today (pictured) that another national ballot would ‘morally justified’ because pledges from Eurosceptics during the 2016 had turned out to be false

So what would happen if we just walked away?

MONEY

Leaving without a deal would mean an immediate Brexit on March 29 after tearing up a 21-month transition agreement. This included giving £39billion to the EU, which ministers would no longer have to pay, a House of Lords report claims.

GOODS TRADE

The Chequers agreement effectively proposed keeping Britain in the single market for goods and agriculture to preserve ‘frictionless’ trade and protect the economy.

Customs checks on cross-Channel freight would cause havoc at ports, hitting food supplies and other goods.

Even Brexiteers admit to a big economic impact in the short term. Britain could waive customs checks on EU produce to free up backlogs, but would Brussels do the same?

TARIFFS

All EU-UK trade in goods is free of tariffs in the single market.

Trade would revert to World Trade Organisation rules. The EU would charge import tariffs averaging 2-3 per cent on goods, but up to 60 per cent for some agricultural produce, damaging UK exporters.

We have a trade deficit with the EU of £71billion – they sell us more than we sell them – so the EU overall would lose out.

German cars and French agriculture would be worst hit, as would UK regions with large export industries. Tariffs could also mean price inflation. But UK trade with the EU is 13 per cent of GDP and falling compared to non-EU trade, which generates a surplus and is likely to grow. The outlook would be boosted by Britain’s ability to strike trade deals.

IMMIGRATION

The UK would immediately have control over its borders and freedom to set migration policy on all EU migrants.

UK nationals would likely lose their right to live and work in the EU. There would be legal uncertainty for the 1.3million Britons living in the EU and the 3.7million EU nationals here.

CITY OF LONDON

Many firms have already made contingency plans for no deal, but there would probably be a significant degree of disruption and an economic hit.

Ministers would be likely to take an axe to tax and regulations to preserve the UK’s economic advantage.

AEROPLANES

Fears of planes not being able to fly appear far-fetched – unless the EU is determined to destroy both business and tourism. Rules to keep planes in the air are likely to be agreed. The EU has many deals with non-EU countries as part of its Open Skies regime.

EUROPEAN COURTS

Britain would be free from the edicts of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and all EU laws. Parliament would be sovereign.

FARMING & FISHING

THE UK would quit the Common Agricultural Policy, which gives farmers and landowners £3billion in subsidies. Ministers would come under pressure to continue a form of subsidy.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland would be outside the EU, with no arrangements on how to manage 300 crossing points on the 310-mile border.

The EU would want Ireland to impose customs and other checks to protect the bloc’s border – something it has said it will not do. No deal could blow a hole in the Good Friday Agreement, with pressure on all sides to find a compromise.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk