Theresa May’s Brexit deal was hanging by a thread last night as furious Tory MPs savaged her decision to open the door to a second referendum.
In a dramatic gamble, the Prime Minister offered MPs a binding vote on a second EU poll – if they backed her withdrawal deal at the fourth attempt next month.
Mrs May pleaded with Parliament to finally approve her plan so Britain could avoid ‘a nightmare future of permanently polarised politics’.
Desperate to win over Labour MPs, she also suggested the agreement could be amended to include a temporary customs union. The move followed a fractious three-hour Cabinet meeting, in which at least two ministers are said to have hinted they might resign in protest at the concessions.
Boris Johnson, who voted for Mrs May’s deal at the third attempt, led the attacks on her latest offer, saying: ‘Now we are being asked to vote for a customs union and a second referendum. The Bill is directly against our manifesto – and I will not vote for it. We can and must do better – and deliver what the people voted for.’
Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who is lining up against Mr Johnson to succeed the PM, said he could not support legislation ‘that would be the vehicle for a second referendum or customs union’.
Mark Francois led hardline Eurosceptic MPs in insisting Mrs May’s concessions were ‘dead on arrival’. Some Tory MPs even called on the PM to quit immediately.
Jeremy Corbyn initially said Labour would ‘look seriously’ at the proposals. But he later warned: ‘Theresa May’s new Brexit deal is a rehash of her old bad deal and Labour cannot support it.’
Source: Mail Online