The Prime Minister (pictured visiting a church in Maidenhead yesterday) mounted a last-ditch bid to win over her mutinous backbenchers after over 100 Tory MPs threatened to rebel in the crunch vote on her deal
Michael Gove today insisted the Brexit vote is '100 per cent' going ahead - despite Theresa May facing a potentially terminal defeat.
The Environment Secretary tried to quell mounting speculation about a retreat by the PM before the crunch showdown on her deal tomorrow night.
But he also hinted that Mrs May is desperately seeking more concessions from Brussels as she struggles to save her premiership.
The PM is locked in intense talks with allies and aides as they try to find a way through the dire situation.
Some 110 Tory MPs are pledged to oppose the plan, making defeat all-but certain as they line up with Labour, the SNP, and the Lib Dems.
Tory infighting escalated dramatically today as leadership rivals prepared to pounce on the weakened PM, with foreign minister Alan Duncan warning that those who kill off Mrs May deal 'will forever be known as the wreckers'.
He also said if Boris Johnson took over at No10 he will be met with 'loud raspberries in many many different languages'.
Despite the public protestations by Mr Gove, a growing number of ministers are believed to be urging Mrs May to shelve the clash tomorrow to avoid disaster.
But others insist that will look like cowardice, and she needs a demonstration of Parliament's view to strengthen her hand with Brussels.
Mr Gove said this morning that the vote was '100 per cent' going ahead.
He also gave a clear indication that the government is seeking assistance from the EU, saying there was 'no-one better placed' than Mrs May to get more concessions.
But he warned there were significant 'risks' in reopening the Withdrawal Agreement thrashed out with Brussels.
Mr Gove dismissed suggestions that Mrs May could be helped in her efforts by a heavy defeat in Parliament.
In a reference to the famous resignation speech by Geoffrey Howe that sunk Margaret Thatcher, he warned that would be the 'equivalent of breaking the cricket bat in half before the leader went to the crease'.
'If colleagues really want to help the PM I'm sure the PM would urge them gently but firmly to support her tomorrow,' Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
There are doubts over whether Mrs May would be able to abandon the vote, with speculation that Speaker John Bercow could force one even if she tries.
Mrs May spoke with EU council president Donald Tusk last night as she considers a bid to squeeze more concessions out of the EU.
Number Ten remained tight-lipped, but Mr Tusk tweeted that it 'will be an important week for the fate of Brexit'.
An EU summit is scheduled for the end of the week, which could provide a stage for Mrs May to emulate Margaret Thatcher and have a 'handbag moment' to demand more concessions on the Irish border 'backstop'.
In a clear leadership pitch yesterday, Mr Johnson also predicted that Mrs May will lose her crunch vote on the deal by a huge margin this week, as he told of the deep 'personal responsibility' he feels towards Brexit.
Looking visibly emotional as he appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, he said the UK can do 'much much better' than the PM's deal.
There are claims that Home Secretary Sajid Javid is also brazenly canvassing Cabinet colleagues for a tilt at the top job if Mrs May is ousted.
In a sign of what could be a torrent of resignations if she goes ahead with the vote, Tory MP Will Quince yesterday quit as a parliamentary aide to Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson.
At least two government whips are understood to be considering falling on their swords in order to vote against the Brexit package.
Staring down the barrel of defeat, Mrs May is under mounting pressure to delay the vote and use an EU summit in Brussels next Thursday to hammer the bloc for more concessions.
One senior cabinet minister told The Sunday Times: 'People in No 10 think she needs to have a 'handbag moment' where she says: 'Up with this I will not put.'
And with the Government in chaos over Brexit, several senior ministers are in talks with Labour over whether a second referendum or a Norway-style deal would break the deadlock.
The PM's de facto deputy David Lidington, and Justice Secretary, David Gauke, have been in talks with Labour MPs over the two possibilities.
While leading Tories are jockeying for position for a possible leadership contest, with Boris Johnson laying out his vision for the top job and Sajid Javid canvassing for support.
Under a barrage of attacks from all sides, the PM mounted a fresh fightback today by warning Eurosceptics that risk losing Brexit altogether unless they back her.
She used a powerful interview in today's Mail on Sunday to try to avert the rebellion by 'weaponising' the prospect of Mr Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.
Mrs May said Britain 'would truly be in uncharted waters' if the deal is voted down.
She said: 'It would mean grave uncertainty for the nation with a very real risk of no Brexit.
'We have a leader of the Opposition who thinks of nothing but attempting to bring about a General Election, no matter what the cost to the country… I believe Jeremy Corbyn getting his hands on power is a risk we cannot afford to take.'
She told her MPs: 'If you want Brexit, make sure you get it, and that's about this deal.'
Ahead of one of the most momentous weeks in post-war British politics:
- Mrs May was considering making an emergency dash to Brussels to secure new legally binding assurances over the controversial backstop – as the EU hatched secret plans to delay Brexit by six weeks;
- Tory Brexit ringleader Jacob Rees-Mogg backed a Brexit/Remain 'unity' ticket of Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd if Mrs May falls;
- MPs claimed that Home Secretary Sajid Javid was openly canvassing support for a leadership bid, while former Brexit Secretaries David Davis and Dominic Raab were 'jostling for position with each other';
- Leaked polling from Tory HQ revealed that 57 per cent of Conservative voters think MPs should vote for the deal, with just 27 per cent saying they should vote against;
- It was claimed that, if Mrs May was forced out after the vote on Tuesday, then the Commons would have to sit at Christmas for the first time since the 17th Century Cromwellian interregnum;
- Labour MPs piled pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to honour party policy on a second referendum;
- It was revealed Attorney General Geoffrey Cox was reduced to tears over the turmoil;
- Nigel Farage is poised to launch a new Leave party to exploit Conservative divisions and push for a harder Brexit.
Although there is a growing belief in Westminster that Mrs May could be forced to delay the vote, she last night insisted her Cabinet was united behind her. 'I think we all recognise that this is a good deal,' she said.
Tory MPs are in open revolt over her deal, and Mrs May is expected to face a fresh attempt to oust her as Tory leader is she loses the big vote by a massive margin.
Currently over 100 Tory MPs and the 10 DUP MPs propping the Tories up in power have refused to back her.
If they stick to their guns then the PM is set for a catastrophic and humiliating defeat.
Her mutinous Tories are furious at her deal's Irish backstop plan, which would see the UK tied to the customs union and more single market checks have to be carried out in Northern Ireland.
They warn the UK cannot pull out of the backstop without the EU's permission - potentially keeping the UK 'locked' to Brussels against its will.
Mr Johnson launched a fresh broadside against the deal as he laid out his pitch for the Brexit negotiations in what will be seen as a thinly veiled leadership pitch.
Writing in The Sun, he said the UK should refuse to hand over half of the £39billion divorce bill until a free trade is done.
Mr Johnson has become the PM's fiercest critic since quitting as Foreign Secretary in fury at her Brexit plan.
He wrote: 'It is time now to show our EU friends that we mean business. This should be a take-it-or-leave-it offer.
'And, to show that we mean business, we must be able to walk away.
'This is a great country, capable of rising to immense challenges — and I believe the people of this country are fed up to the back teeth of being told by their Government that they are simply incapable of managing the logistical problems of Brexit.'
Amid mounting opposition to the deal, civil servants have war-gamed two versions of the UK holding another referendum.
The first is a straight choice between the PM's deal and remaining in the EU, and the second would be a leave, remain contest with a second question asking them if they prefer the existing deal or a no-deal departure on World Trade Organisation terms, The Sunday Times reported.
While Mrs May is facing overwhelming opposition from MPs, polling obtained by the Mail on Sunday found that Conservative voters in Tory-held seats want their MPs to vote for the deal by a majority of more than two to one.
This suggests that MPs who voted against the deal could be punished at the ballot box at the next Election.
If Mrs May loses an immediate no-confidence vote on Tuesday, Parliament could have to sit on Christmas Day because the Fixed Term Parliament Act sets a deadline of 14 calendar days for a new Government to be formed, meaning December 25 would be the last chance for any coalition to try to win a Commons majority.
It's believed that the last time the Commons sat on Christmas Day was in 1656.
If these are Theresa May's final days in Downing Street, she seems remarkably sanguine about it, drinking from a mug which says 'proud to be a Bloody Difficult Woman' and using a hole punch which read 'please do not remove from office'
Labour MPs are privately urging Mr Corbyn to table a no-confidence motion against Mrs May if she loses the vote on her deal in the hope that it leads to a second referendum.
Asked whether Labour would push for a no-confidence vote, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told The Mail on Sunday: 'We'll judge when we see what happens on Tuesday.'
Mr Rees-Mogg said dodging a vote on her Brexit deal would be as damaging to Mrs May as losing it.
He said: 'The humiliation of avoiding a vote is as much a reason for her departure as defeat. It is her policy which has failed and for which she is accountable.
'And it would be much better if she left of her own accord rather than face a no-confidence motion.'
Mrs May's allies argue that, if the deal crashes, it will not only lead to the end of her leadership but the suspension of Article 50, the triggering of an election likely to lead to a Labour-SNP coalition Government, then a second referendum to try to reverse Brexit.
Mrs May, who refuses to say whether she will resign if she loses the vote on her Brexit deal, rules out a second referendum while she is leader, telling this newspaper: 'We had a people's vote. Let's deliver on the first people's vote.'
The PM has been on a PR blitz to depserately try to drum up suport for her hugely controversial deal.
But while she has been trying to appeal to the nation, opposition to her deal is mounting in Parliament - where the crucial decision will be made.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/10/gove-vows-brexit-vote-will-go-ahead-despite-pm-facing-crushing-defeat/
Main photo article
The Prime Minister (pictured visiting a church in Maidenhead yesterday) mounted a last-ditch bid to win over her mutinous backbenchers after over 100 Tory MPs threatened to rebel in the crunch vote on her deal
Michael Gove today insisted the Brexit vote is ‘100 per cent’ going...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/10/09/7195136-6478591-The_Prime_Minister_pictured_visiting_a_church_in_Maidenhead_yest-a-14_1544432945785.jpg
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