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Theresa May faces Brexiteer backlash hours after ordering MPs to stop public dissent

PM restores cabinet collective responsibility as she faces down ministers and secures agreement on government's Brexit plan

Benjamin Kentish

Political Correspondent

Saturday 07 July 2018 09:33 BST

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Brexit: Theresa May secures Cabinet backing after meeting at Chequers

Theresa May faces a angry backlash from Conservative Eurosceptics after senior ministers agreed a Brexit policy that would effectively keep the UK in the EU single market for goods.

Anti-EU backbenchers refused to rule out triggering a leadership contest against the prime minister amid anger that she had convinced the cabinet to support a softer Brexit.

It comes as Ms May ordered her ministers to get behind the agreement, reached after a day of talks at her Chequers country retreat, or face being sacked.

Several Eurosceptic members of the cabinet reportedly criticised the proposals in private, but the prime minister made clear they would no longer be allowed to speak out in public.

The negotiating position agreed at Chequers would see the UK adopt a “common rulebook” with the EU on the trade of goods, with the UK agreeing to “ongoing harmonisation with EU rules” – a pledge that will anger Brexiteers, who want Britain to be free to set its own regulations.

They will also be concerned that it will mean the European Court of Justice (ECJ) continuing to have a say over UK trade, although the government insisted the court would no longer be able to dictate UK laws. Ms May has repeatedly promised that the jurisdiction of EU courts will end in the UK after Brexit.

In a sign of No 10’s toughening stance, the prime minister told cabinet ministers they face being sacked if they speak out against the plan agreed at Chequers.

Writing to Tory MPs, she said: “During the EU referendum campaign collective responsibility on EU policy was temporarily suspended. As we developed our policy on Brexit I have allowed cabinet colleagues to express their individual views.

“Agreement on this proposal marks the point where that is no longer the case and collective responsibility is now fully restored.”

But as Brexiteers began voicing their opposition, one anti-EU Tory, Andrea Jenkyns, suggested she could try to oust Ms May when the full details of the agreement are published next week.

Asked on Twitter if she would be willing to try to trigger a leadership contest, she said simply: “Awaiting the details.”

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

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1/8The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Post-Brexit immigration

workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer.

Alamy

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Transition period

Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg, chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of anti-EU Conservatives, warned Ms May it was “crucially important” that she stick to her word.

Within minutes of the agreement being announced, Tory Eurosceptics were reportedly using the ERG WhatsApp group to criticise the plan and urge Mr Rees-Mogg to speak out against it.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “This will require legislation and if, when we get the detailed legislation, it turns out that it is a punishment Brexit, that it is keeping us in the European Union in all but name, I will stick to the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitments and will not vote for it.”

He said he would wait for the full details to see ”have the red lines been turned pink” but warned that the “common rulebook” could make “trade deals almost impossible”. Downing Street has already admitted the proposal could make a UK-US trade deal more difficult.

Mr Rees-Mogg said it was “possible that this deal is worse” than crashing out of the EU without an agreement.

Michel Barnier says there is 'serious divergence' between EU and Britain in Brexit talks

He added: “As with eggs: an egg that is very softly boiled isn’t boiled at all. A very soft Brexit means that we haven’t left, we are simply a rule-taker. That is not something that this country voted for, it is not what the prime minister promised.

“The prime minister will, I’m sure, stick to her word – that is crucially important – but I will certainly stick to the Conservatives’ manifesto commitments and will not vote for something that doesn’t deliver Brexit.”

Michel Barnier says there is “serious divergence” between EU and Britain in Brexit talks.

Cabinet ministers, including some who had reportedly expressed concerns about the agreement, took to Twitter to back Ms May.

Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, wrote: “As a passionate Brexiteer with huge optimism about future as a free trading nation, I agree with the PM that keeping the UK together is vital.

“Alignment on goods, with Parliament sovereign on each decision, free to trade, no more vast payments, ending free movement – good for UK.”

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