Theresa May hit by Tory backlash over latest plea to Brussels for Brexit delay
3 min read
Theresa May has faced a fresh round of fury from her backbenchers after she begged Brussels to grant the UK another delay to Brexit.
The Prime Minister sent a three-page letter to Donald Tusk this morning asking for Britain’s exit day to be pushed back until 30 June, or earlier if she can win Commons backing for a deal.
In a move that has compounded anger among pro-Brexit MPs, she also confirmed that plans were underway for the UK to possibly take part in next month's European Parliament elections, despite Mrs May repeatedly insisting that would not happen.
The document was released shortly after it had been reported that EU council chief, Mr Tusk, was only prepared to offer the UK a year-long “flextension”, with the option of leaving before then if possible.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the hardline Brexiteer European Research Group, said the PM's latest plea represented a "symbol of failure".
He also said Mrs May would be "abandoning" the Conservative Party if she had given up trying to win the support of Tory hardliners to get a deal through in favour of soft Brexit supporters.
"If that is right the Prime Minister is cutting herself not from me, but from 70% of Conservative voters according opinion polls and an even higher percentage of Conservative members, " he told the BBC's World at One.
"So it doesn’t seem to be to be very clever politics to alienate the bulk of your party to keep happy a few people who always rejected the referendum result and have spent their life committed to the European project."
The comments come hours after he tweeted that if the UK was forced to elect officials to Brussels as part of a longer extension, they should “be as difficult as possible” in Parliament.
“We could veto any increase in the budget, obstruct the putative EU army and block Mr Macron’s integrationist schemes,” he wrote.
MPs 'TEARING THEIR HAIR OUT'
Elsewhere outspoken Brexiteer Marc Francois insisted MPs were hoping to mount a fresh bid to oust the PM – even though they cannot force another formal no confidence vote in her until next December.
The Rayleigh and Wickford MP said colleagues had sent, or were planning to send, new letters to chair of the backbench 1922 committee Sir Graham Brady demanding an unofficial indicative ballot of confidence in her.
He told BBC News: “I’m afraid the Prime Minister is in a sort of bunker here and is not listening to her own MPs, to her own party members or indeed to her own Cabinet and that is dangerous for the future of the country…
“Many Tory MPs across the spectrum are tearing their hair out about what the Prime Minister is doing, particularly when we could, if we had the resolve and the moral courage, just leave the European Union one week from today.”
Meanwhile deputy chair of the ERG, Steve Baker, told PoliticsHome that the Prime Minister should continue to pursue a deal with "alternative arrangements" to the controversial backstop, despite the EU repeatedly insisting that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened for negotiations.
“The PM could get us out with a deal if only she would secure changes to the backstop in line with the Brady amendment which she voted for," he said.
“If only the Government would abandon pursuit of a Customs Union in all but name, this crisis would end.”
Backbencher Nigel Evans tweeted that Mrs May should revive the Malthouse Compromise option, which has also been rejected as it called for technology that is not yet available, to resolve the Irish border conundrum.
“Theresa must say no no no to any longer extension - and no no no to fighting EU elections - offer Malthouse compromise, Leave into implementation period April 12,” he wrote.
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