Theresa May could face 'leadership change before Christmas' warns Tory as backlash mounts over collapsed Brexit deal
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Loading... - Courtney Trump
- 05 Dec 2020
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Theresa May is facing a backlash and a threat to her survival after her latest bid to solve the Brexit deadlock collapsed.
The humiliated Prime Minister called off a possible deal last night DUP leader Arlene Foster - who she handed £1bn to prop up her government - told her 'no' in a last-minute phone call.
Today ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband branded the Tories a "ludicrous, incompetent, absurd, make it up as you go along, couldn’t run a p*** up in a brewery bunch of jokers".
And a former top ambassador, Lord Ricketts, said it was "pretty extraordinary" Mrs May hadn't cleared the deal with Ms Foster beforehand.
Yet it could get worse for the embattled PM.
Tory MPs attended a meeting in Westminster last night - where key figures said they, too, were supporting the DUP's stance.
The DUP, and key Tories including Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, all say Mrs May must not give Northern Ireland special status after Brexit because it could break up the Union of the UK.
That traps the PM over how to have a 'hard' border with Europe to check imports and immigrants - yet NO hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
A leak in Ireland revealed officials tried to promise "no regulatory divergence", or "regulatory alignment", between Northern Ireland and the EU.
Not only was this deal torpedoed by the DUP - Remain-voting Scotland and London also demanded the same special treatment.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davdison said: "The question on the Brexit ballot paper asked voters whether the UK should stay or leave the EU.
"It did not ask if the country should be divided by different deals for different home nations".
Mrs May is set to hold crisis talks with the DUP after this morning's Cabinet to agree a better-worded deal by the end of the week.
Without a deal, she'll be unable to convince 27 EU leaders there's been sufficient progress to begin trade talks at a summit next week.
Speaking to the Times, one senior Tory claimed the crisis could cost Mrs May her job within weeks.
The unidentified politician said: "If, to save their blushes, the Irish agree to a meaningless and frankly unenforceable set of words then great.
"If they don’t, or Theresa May goes too far, then we and the DUP will withdraw support and there could be a leadership change this side of Christmas.”
Brexiteer Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith told the Guardian: "There cannot be any regulatory divergence between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK."
Fellow Leave-backing MP Jacob Rees-Mogg added: "The Conservative Party has always been for the Union."
Remain-backing Tory Anna Soubry also dismissed the idea of a special deal, telling Sky News: "It would be a huge step towards a united Ireland."
Mrs May stuck a positive tone yesterday, claiming her three-and-a-half lunch with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had been "constructive".
But former top ambassador Peter Ricketts, the former head of the Foreign Office, said it was "pretty extraordinary" she didn't ensure the DUP were on side.
Lord Ricketts told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I mean, it's pretty extraordinary that this wasn't all stitched up with the DUP beforehand.
"We're used to prime ministers going to Brussels and having a row with the EU and coming back without an agreement, but to go agree with the EU and then have a row on your own side is inconvenient."
The crossbench peer added devastatingly: "I think it leaves an impression that the Prime Minister hasn't got the authority to get through these difficult negotiations."
Former Tory Brexit minister David Jones added: "Clearly the Prime Minister’s got a lot of talking to do."
And he admitted: "We can’t ignore the parliamentary arithmetic... [The DUP] are in a very strong political position and therefore they have to be listened to very closely."
