THE TORY civil war is continuing with reports yesterday that as many as 100 Tory MPs are preparing to rebel against PM May unless she scraps her controversial Chequers plan for Brexit. Chris Green, a former aide in the Department for Transport, urged May to listen to those within the party who do not back Chequers.
‘Unanimously my (local) membership are very disappointed about Chequers. I feel that we have one month to save Brexit and the Conservative Party.’ On a potential ‘no deal’ he said: ‘The way I would view that is to use the WTO rules as the basis of our relationship with the EU and build up from that.’
Tory MPs led by Jacob Rees-Mogg have demanded she instead study an alternative plan they say will deliver the Brexit that the British people voted for. The MPs are drawing up the alternative proposal, to be published in the next fortnight.
It reportedly will set out the ‘no deal’ option, which would see the UK leave the EU without an agreement on a future trade relationship and instead use World Trade Organisation rules.
Number 10 is said to be standing firm against Rees-Mogg. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, who is due to meet EU negotiator Michel Barnier this week, said an agreement with the EU was the ‘most likely outcome’.
Meanwhile the row is set to erupt at Conservative Party conference at the end of September.
On Thursday the government is expected to publish a series of documents, setting out the problems with ‘no deal’ which critics say it is a re-run of Project Fear.
The documents say that in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, the UK will still recognise some EU regulations to ensure EU medicines, car parts and chemicals are still available in the UK.
Brexiteers warn that the Chequers proposal will not get through the House of Commons ‘on Tory votes’ but that the government should be cautious about believing it could rely on Labour votes.
