Amber Rudd insists MPs will block no-deal Brexit despite Theresa May warnings
3 min read
Cabinet minister Amber Rudd today insisted MPs will stop a no-deal Brexit ever happening - despite Theresa May warning it could be the consequence of rejecting the agreement she has struck with Brussels.
The new Work and Pensions Secretary claimed there would be no majority for it in the Commons once MPs had looked "over the abyss" - and suggested another Brexit referendum was more likely.
But she argued MPs would in fact support the controversial deal, despite MPs from across the political divide vowing to reject it when it comes Parliament next month.
Mrs May has warned that rejecting her deal could lead to the UK crashing out of the EU on World Trade Organisation terms, which many experts have said would spark turmoil in the economy.
But Ms Rudd - who only returned to the Cabinet last week following the resignation of Dominic Raab and Esther McVey - blew a hole in the Prime Minister’s argument this morning when she said a no-deal Brexit was impossible.
“It is my view that parliament - the House of Commons - will stop no deal,” she told the Today programme on Radio 4. “There isn’t a majority in the House of Commons to allow that to take place.”
Asked if she meant voting down the deal could lead to a second EU referendum, she said: “I don’t think we are looking at another referendum.
“I think that what will happen is people will take a careful look over the abyss - MPs of all parties and consider what they think is in the best interest of the whole country.
“And I think the likelihood is, despite what people say, that the withdrawal agreement will get through.”
She added:” I think that people should take a sort of higher level look at it to content themselves and see if it’s the right way forward… This is the cake, it’s been baked, the PM is going to bring it back.”
The comments came as another Cabinet minister appeared to contradict the Prime Minister's assertion that a vote against her deal would lead to Britain quitting the EU without an agreement.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss instead warned Brexiteers that killing off the agreement in parliament could shelve the process of leaving the EU altogether.
"If my colleagues don't vote for this in Parliament we are in serious danger of not leaving at all," she told BBC 5 Live's Emma Barnett.
"This is genuinely leaving and people will see that when we release the future framework.
"And I am very very worried about what the alternative looks like because I'm a democrat. I believe people voted in good faith to leave the EU and we need to deliver that."
'MPs WILL NOT SIT BACK'
Meanwhile fellow senior Tory MP Damian Collins also predicted that parliament would block a no-deal Brexit and suggested a general election or a referendum could be the result.
The Culture Select Committee chair said MPs would choose “some mechanism of consulting the people” if the deal was rejected, “be it a general election or a second referendum”.
Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer last week revealed he had been in talks with MPs across the House over ways to stop a no-deal Brexit happening.
He said today: "Amber Rudd seems to have ignored No 10’s spin by admitting that parliament would stop a no deal Brexit.
"If the Prime Minister’s deal is rejected then MPs will not sit back and allow us to crash out of the EU without an agreement. Parliament will take back control.
"After these comments from Amber Rudd, it’s time for the government to drop the false choice between a bad deal and no deal, and to come forward with a plan that can command the majority support of parliament."
Downing Street sources insisted Ms Rudd was simply expressing a view on the current political situation.
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