Theresa May 'mulls cash boost for deprived towns' if Labour MPs back her Brexit deal
3 min read
Labour MPs who swing behind Theresa May's Brexit deal could see cash doled out to their constituencies under a plan reportedly being considered by Number 10.
The Times reports that Labour backbenchers in Leave-supporting seats are being told they could get a local investment boost if they side with the Government and support Mrs May's EU agreement.
"There’s a willingness to look again at coalfield communities and make good the promises that former Labour governments failed to deliver," a government source told the paper.
"It’s about allowing Labour MPs representing Brexit communities to show that they have extracted something tangible in return for their vote. And, frankly, it’s not an unreasonable ask."
Number 10 has already tried to woo Jeremy Corbyn's backbenchers with a promise to protect workers' rights and environmental standards after Britain quits the bloc.
However, The Times reports that Mrs May is keen to go further with a pledge to beat EU protections.
Allies of the Prime Minister believe around 20 Labour MPs will need to be persuaded to get behind her Brexit deal to ensure it passes the House of Commons in a fresh vote next month.
Fourteen Labour MPs defied the leadership on Tuesday night to help kill off a plan to delay Article 50, while 10 MPs - including shadow ministers Gloria De Piero and Melanie One - abstained in the crucial Commons vote.
PoliticsHome revealed on Wednesday that the rebel frontbenchers will not be disciplined by Labour bosses for breaking the party whip.
'RUNNING DOWN THE CLOCK'
The news that Number 10 is considering investing in Labour rebels' seats came as Mr Corbyn held face-to-face talks with the Prime Minister amid efforts to break the Brexit deadlock.
In a fresh spat between the two sides, Number 10 sources disputed an account of the talks given by Mr Corbyn's spokesperson, who said Mrs May had been "interested in exploring the detail" of Labour's proposals for a permanent customs union with the EU.
But a Downing Street source said Mrs May had done no more than "ask questions" about Mr Corbyn's proposal.
Speaking to Sky News after the meeting, Mr Corbyn meanwhile accused Mrs May of "running down the clock" in a bid to spook MPs into supporting her deal.
"The whole process looks like it's running down the clock by saying, well, it's either the problems and the difficulties of No Deal or support a deal that's already been rejected by the House of Commons," he said.
"I'm suspicious that there is a programme of running down the clock here."
The Labour leader has previously stayed away from talks with the Prime Minister, instead urging her to rule out allowing a no-deal Brexit.
But Labour MP Lisa Nandy last night told ITV's Peston programme that her party needed to be willing to shift its own red lines on Brexit to get a deal through.
"It is also incumbent on the Labour Party now to start to make real choices about what it is that we want, because we're two and a half years on from the referendum and there's still a debate going in the Labour Party about whether we respect the result of the referendum or whether we have a second referendum," the Wigan MP said.
She added: "We have to start compromising and we have to start dropping some of the red lines that are stopping us from getting to a deal or we will, by default, end up with a no-deal."
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