Tuesday will decide her fate
Labour is lining up to join Tory rebels and the Democratic Unionist Party in voting down Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday.
If May loses the vote, the prime minister will be under huge pressure to resign. Among the rumoured names to run in a Tory leadership contest are Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Amber Rudd, Liz Truss, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove.
Breaking the rule of refusing to acknowledge the necessity for a plan B to May’s plan, Amber Rudd suggested that a Norway-style deal, which would keep Britain tied to large parts of European law, “seems plausible not just in terms of the country but in terms of where the MPs are”.
Rather than trying to trigger a general election, Labour is planning to ask MPs to register their opposition with a vote expressing no confidence in her ability as prime minister, with No. 10 warned that the opposition party are gathering support from both Tory and DUP MPs.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday tried to court the DUP by describing their opposition to the Irish backstop as “sensible” and committing Labour to seeking a Brexit without one. The “backstop” would keep Northern Ireland in the EU customs union with the Republic of Ireland if a deal is not reached in order to avoid a hard border between the two nations on the island.
Theresa May will receive support from the DUP in the scenario of the PM facing a no confidence vote but will not have the backing of the Northern Irish party in enacting her Brexit deal.
