Brexiteers told to ‘show steel’ against soft Brexit plans in threat to topple May
GETTY Brexiteers must show backbone at Chequers on Friday, Angela Jenkyns tweeted
Tory MP Ms Jenkyns, who quit as a ministerial aide in order to speak more freely about Brexit, urged Cabinet Brexiteers to stand up for Leave voters – and referred to the jockeying for position to succeed Mrs May. In a message on Twitter aimed at Mr Johnson, Mr Gove, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox, Andrea Leadsom and Chris Grayling, she urged them to "show your steel on Friday". She wrote: "Cabinet Brexiteers please stand up for the 17.4million people who voted to leave. We are relying on your. "We know some of you want to be the future party leader. Please show your steel on Friday." Speculation has been mounting that the Prime Minister will set out plans for a soft Brexit in order to overcome the problems at the Irish border and ports across the UK if there were customs or regulatory barriers to trade.
GETTY Andrea Jenkyns MP has warned the Prime Minister over Brexit
History shows, prime ministers keep their jobs if they keep their promises Andrea Jenkyns MP
Ms Jenkyns warned the Prime Minister's position would be under threat if she opted for a Norway-style relationship with the EU inside the single market. She told the ConservativeHome website: "If we don't deliver Brexit, if we're half in and half out, it's going to be catastrophic for the Conservative Party." "They're not going to trust the party. In our manifesto, all of us, Brexiters and Remainers, we stood on that manifesto that we would deliver Brexit." She added that "history shows, prime ministers keep their jobs if they keep their promises".
GETTY Michael Gove has said he believes the cabinet will agree a position
Mrs May is trying to force through a compromise that will secure support from both wings of her Cabinet at the gathering on Friday, but critics called for the Government to maintain its red lines on leaving the single market and customs union. Brexiteer Cabinet minister Michael Gove insisted that a "united position" would be reached at the away day, ahead of the publication of a White Paper outlining the Government's blueprint for the future relationship with the EU next week. And he played down speculation that pro-Brexit ministers such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson could quit if there was perceived to be backsliding over the break from Brussels.
GETTY Jacob Rees-Mogg may not back a Brexit deal which leaves voters feeling "cheated"
Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the influential European Research Group of pro-Brexit Tories, told Mrs May he may not back a Brexit deal which left Leave voters "cheated". He told Channel 4 News: "It's not for me to issue warnings to the Prime Minister. I fully support the Prime Minister, but I cannot guarantee to support a policy that doesn't deliver on the manifesto commitments." Insisting that the red lines remained intact, Mr Gove said: "The Prime Minister has a clear plan which will ensure that Britain can leave the EU, be outside the single market and customs union, maintain as frictionless access as possible to the European market and also ensure that we take back control of our laws and our borders." The Environment Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What we are going to do is to make sure that we have a discussion which ensures that we have the right policy for the UK."
Theresa May’s Tory Brexit rebels Thu, December 14, 2017 Theresa May’s Tory Brexit rebels: The MPs who backed the amendment to the Brexit bill. Play slideshow Getty 1 of 12 Theresa May’s Tory Brexit rebels
He said at the end "I think the Cabinet will agree a united position", adding: "Everyone in Cabinet is an advocate for Brexit, that is government policy." Asked about the possibility of people quitting as ministers after Friday's showdown, Mr Gove said: "The only departures that I think we will see are more departures from Heathrow when a third runway is built." The summit at Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence, is intended to fix the Government's position on key areas of the trade deal it wants with Brussels, but details remain vague on a reported "third way" to manage customs arrangements at ports and the Irish border. The two original competing options for a post-Brexit deal have split the Cabinet and received the cold shoulder in Brussels.