After reluctantly nominally agreeing to the terms of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal in a five-hour meeting last night, UK cabinet ministers and other members of parliament have begun to make their displeasure clear.
Northern Ireland minister Shailesh Vara became the first to resign in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit deal, describing the agreement as leaving the UK in a “halfway house”. Speaking to the Today programme, Vara called the customs union arrangement set out in the deal “an institution over which we will have no say and effectively be taking rules and regulations from the EU,” adding: “If we want to leave the customs arrangement then we can’t. I don’t think that is an argument to say that we are going to be a sovereign nation if we can’t leave the customs arrangement on our own.”
Vara was followed by Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who cited the different treatment accorded to Northern Ireland within Theresa May’s Brexit deal and the indefinite status of the customs backstop arrangement in his resignation letter. Raab, nicknamed “Raab C. Brexit” by members of his department, was strongly criticised by parliamentary colleagues last week for saying he “hadn’t quite understood” the importance of the Dover-Calais crossing to UK trade. His resignation was described as “devastating” by quiet former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.
Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey was followed in short order by junior Brexit minister Suella Braverman and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Department of Education. Department of Work and Pensions PPS Raynil Jayawardena and Downing Street Director of Legislative Affairs Nikki da Costa, who is not an MP, resigned later on to minimal fanfare; followed some hours later by Conservative vice chair Rehman Chishti. Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons, kindly promised not to resign.
Speaking to the House of Commons this morning, May acknowledged that the process of drawing up the withdrawal deal had not been “comfortable”. She insisted Brexit could still be conducted “in a smooth and orderly way”, to a chorus of derisive laughter from MPs.
An informal show of hands conducted semi-humorously by Labour MP Chris Leslie suggested no MP was in support of Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Mark Francois of the hard Brexit-advocating European Research Group said the deal had been “dead on arrival”.
May refused to answer questions on whether, during her tenure as home secretary, she had ordered UK security services not to investigate questionable donations made to the Leave.EU campaign by Arron Banks. The prime minister has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a second referendum on Britain’s leaving the EU, on the basis that two were enough. She told the House of Commons she believed the UK’s best days were ahead; and said: “This is a country that abides by its legal obligations.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg submitted a letter of no confidence to Graham Brady MP, chair of the 1922 committee, this afternoon. Brady gave reporters the impression that he had not yet received 48 letters, which would be the number needed to trigger a no confidence vote. Rees-Mogg told reporters outside the Houses of Parliament Theresa May’s Brexit deal contradicted promises made in the Conservative manifesto and that the UK should push for a no deal Brexit. He was heckled by a man with a loudhailer calling for an end to Brexit proceedings.
Michael Gove is alleged to have been offered the now vacant position of Brexit secretary, possibly as an incentive not to resign. It is unclear whether he plans to accept it, although it has been suggested he offered to take the post on the condition he could rewrite Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
The Scottish government has declared Theresa May’s Brexit deal to be “essentially dead.” The prime minister has announced she will hold a press conference at 5pm GMT today.
The pound has fallen sharply in value since resignations began, dropping by 1.1 per cent against the dollar and 1.2 per cent against the euro. A summit of EU ministers has tentatively been scheduled for November 25 to endorse Theresa May’s Brexit deal, if it is able to pass parliament. Frankly this seems unlikely.
NB all resignation figures and party leadership details are correct at time of publication.
