Theresa May is braced for a titanic Commons battle over Brexit after furious Tory rebels warned that giving MPs control is the only way to avoid an ‘apocalyptic’ no-deal.
The Prime Minister incurred the wrath of pro-EU Conservatives last night after they claimed she U-turned on private pledges about Parliament having a ‘meaningful vote’ on the outcome of talks with Brussels.
Rebel ringleader Dominic Grieve said they were now ready to force the issue to a potentially explosive division in the House next week – with Mrs May’s whole Brexit strategy on the line.
Government sources admitted the vote on the flagship EU Withdrawal Bill next Wednesday will be ‘incredibly tight’.
Rebel ringleader Dominic Grieve (pictured on the BBC’s Question Time last night) said they were now ready to force the issue to a potentially explosive division in the House next week
Mrs May (pictured in Downing Street this week) is braced for a titanic Commons battle over her Brexit strategy
The collision course was set after an extraordinary 48 hours of wrangling, which saw ministers and rebels seemingly compromise, before finally ending in acrimony.
Mrs May initially headed off the rebellion over the EU Withdrawal Bill on Tuesday after promising talks with Tory rebels over their demands for a ‘meaningful vote’ on the Brexit process.
Ministers last night tabled compromise proposals that would give MPs a vote even if talks with Brussels collapse and there is no deal to consider.
But rebel MPs reacted angrily after the Prime Minister vetoed their demand to be able to ‘direct’ the Government to go back to Brussels or delay Brexit if there is no deal.
Mr Grieve only learned of the volte face by Mrs May after he boarded the train to Wales for an appearance on the BBC’s Question Time.
He told the programme his amendment to the Bill was essential to avoid an ‘apocalyptic moment’ where no Brexit deal had been done by February next year, and Parliament was unable to prevent Britain crashing out of the EU.
Mr Grieve said he would listen to the Government’s arguments but would tell ministers ‘I can’t understand what’s got into you’ after the ‘last minute’ change.
‘I don’t understand this final twitch at the end of this negotiation,’ he said.
The text of the Government motion requires ministers only to provide a ‘neutral motion’ on the Brexit deal – meaning the Rebels would not be able to amend it to make their own demands for negotiations
The rules set by the Government motion would require a statement by a minister on the negotiations within two weeks of a vote on January 21, 2019, if there is no deal
Mr Grieve was appearing on the BBC’s Question Time programme in Wales last night
Asked if he had been tricked by Mrs May, he said: ‘No, I don’t think the Prime Minister was tricking us. I’m afraid that, when it came to the end, she wasn’t – for some reason – in a position to deliver to us.’
Another Tory rebel, Stephen Hammond, suggested the PM had been ‘hijacked’ by hard line Brexiteers.
‘I’m sure and I’m convinced the Prime Minister intends to honour her word,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘What I think has happened is some people in the Government may have got involved in the process late in the day, people who weren’t at that meeting, people who hadn’t been involved earlier in the negotiations and who may unfortunately have hijacked the process.’
The House of Lords will consider the Government’s amendment on Monday, when they are expected to reject it.
In its place they are set to impose plans drafted by rebel ringleader Dominic Grieve which attempts to put Parliament, rather than the Government, in the driving seat for the final stage of the Brexit talks.
It will then return to the Commons on Wednesday, with government sources saying Mr Grieve’s demands were ‘unacceptable’ and they would ‘call the bluff’.
Last night, a YouGov poll for The Times found voters were opposed to the idea of allowing Parliament to block Brexit by a margin of 49 per cent to 32.
Mrs May’s intervention last week saw the Government throw out the Lords’ demands on a meaningful vote by 324 votes to 298.
Ahead of the vote, the Prime Minister held talks with at least 13 Tory rebels in a bid to head off defeat. In the end only two voted against the Government – former ministers Ken Clarke and Anna Soubry.
The Government’s compromise amendment would give MPs a vote in the event of there being no deal by January 21 next year.
But the vote would be on a ‘neutral motion’, which would allow MPs to debate and take note of the fact.
Last night Miss Soubry said the rebels had been betrayed and many more would vote against the Government next week.