THERESA May will this evening appeal to Tory colleagues to get behind a move to replace the contentious Irish backstop as she makes the closing Commons speech before MPs vote on a range of Brexit options.
However, the Prime Minister’s bid to rally Conservative MPs behind a single amendment – which surprised some of her own Cabinet - looked doomed after the anti-EU European Research Group[ERG], said to number up to 60 MPs, signalled it would not support it.
And there was doubt last night that Labour would officially back Yvette Cooper’s amendment, which seeks to extend the Article 50 process to avoid a no-deal outcome.
In Brussels, Sabine Weyand, deputy to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, warned that there was now a "high risk" of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal - by accident.
As MPs prepare for what will be another moment of high drama at Westminster, Brandon Lewis, the Conservative Chairman, emerged from a private meeting of Tory MPs in the Commons to confirm they would be whipped to support an amendment tabled by senior backbencher Sir Graham Brady. It seeks to replace the Irish backstop with “alternative arrangements”.
At the Conservative meeting, a cheer rang out when backbenchers Andrew Murrison and John Baron announced they would withdraw their rival amendments, so that the party could rally behind a single cause.
However, it is up to John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, to determine which amendments will be debated and voted upon; there is no guarantee he will select the Brady amendment.
At the Tory meeting, Mrs May confronted leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson after he suggested it was unclear what she wanted to achieve. “We won't know unless you support us Boris,” she told the former Foreign Secretary to loyalist cheers.
Minutes earlier, after a meeting of the ERG faction, its leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, made clear it could not support the Brady amendment. "I don't think it changes anything," he declared.
The Somerset MP suggested the PM should ask for the Withdrawal Agreement to be reopened, noting: “If the Prime Minister says that, that will gather a lot of support across the party."
Earlier, Downing St indicated this was possible, stressing how MPs had rejected the withdrawal treaty, including the backstop, and “some significant changes” would have to be made to win parliamentary support.
If a majority of MPs do back a particular option in tonight’s votes, the PM is expected to return to Brussels in the coming days for more talks. A second meaningful vote on the Government’s Plan B is expected to take place on February 13.
However, when asked what the Government would do if none of the options received majority backing, the PM’s spokesman said: “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
In other developments:
*the Government suffered another defeat in the Lords over its Brexit strategy as peers backed by 283 to 131, a majority of 152, a Labour motion calling for ministers to take "all appropriate steps" to ensure the UK doesn't leave without an agreement;
*Baroness Manningham-Buller, the former MI5 chief, warned that a no-deal Brexit should be "avoided at all costs" because security threats, from terrorism to Russian interference, were best dealt with "in a European context," noting: "If we leave without a deal we are going to be less safe";
*Jyrki Kateinen, the European Commission Vice-President, said there was "no reason to give any concessions" to the UK and there was "not much room for manoeuvre" on the backstop;
*Baroness Evans, the Conservative Leader in the Lords, admitted the Government was in "uncharted waters" over Brexit and the political environment was "charged with uncertainty";
*Sammy Wilson of the Democratic Unionists, whose 10 MPs prop up the minority Conservative administration, urged the PM to "exploit the cracks which are emerging in the illogical position of the EU and the Irish";
*the DUP was urged to "see the benefits" of the PM’s Brexit deal for Northern Ireland by a delegation from the region’s business, farming, trade union, community and voluntary sectors;
*Leave-supporting Tory peer, Lord Dobbs, the House of Cards author, warned failing to honour the public's decision to leave the EU risked rioting on the streets as he also argued that, if agreement could not be reached in Parliament on Brexit, then there should be a general election to give people "the opportunity to take back control" and
*the Government announced an additional £56.5 million will be allocated to councils south of the border to help cope with the impact of Brexit.
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