Pressure grows on May to quit as support for 'new' Brexit deal slips away

Theresa May’s position appears increasingly precarious as she faces calls from senior members of the cabinet to pull a planned vote on her “new” Brexit deal.

Sajid Javid, David Mundell and Penny Mordaunt are among the cabinet ministers who are unhappy about May’s pledge to hold a vote on a referendum, during the passage of her Brexit bill.

Others, including Michael Gove, have suggested it looks impossible to win a majority for the withdrawal agreement bill (Wab) – and suggested the promised vote on it in early June should be pulled.

May was granted a stay of execution last week by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs in order to give her one last chance to offer a vote on her Brexit bill, which is due to receive its second reading in early June.

With little prospect that the legislation could pass, the prime minister is coming under growing pressure to quit, and the chief whip is expected to address backbench MPs.

The foreign affairs committee chair, Tom Tugendhat, became the latest senior backbencher to call for her to resign.

“The Conservative party has one last chance to save the country from this disaster. The only question that matters now is what – and crucially who – comes next,” he said, in an article in the Financial Times.

The promise that MPs would be allowed a vote on whether a “confirmatory” referendum should be held was one of the most eye-catching pledges in the prime minister’s speech on Tuesday.

She stressed that the government did not favour a referendum, but said MPs would be allowed a vote. If the proposal commanded a majority, the government would then legislate for a referendum to take place.

The pledge failed to win over supporters of a People’s Vote, who urged May to make a firm promise to hold a referendum.

But it has infuriated several senior members of May’s cabinet – some of whom felt it went further than plans discussed in a three-hour cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.

May’s spokesman insisted ministers had signed up to her proposals, however. “There was discussion at cabinet on these matters,” he said. “The PM summed up in the usual way. She set out she would be giving a speech later on. The speech reflects the position that was agreed yesterday.”

Mundell, the Scotland secretary, asked for a meeting with May, as did Javid, while Mordaunt also expressed her concerns to the prime minister.

Mundell, who does not have a reputation as a cabinet rebel, was said by allies to feel that any hint that the Conservatives are open to another Brexit referendum would make it harder to win the argument in Scotland.

“The way that it’s been presented allows it to be exploited by the nationalists,” said an ally of Mundell. However, he insisted the Scottish secretary was not going to call for May’s resignation.

The Scottish National party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted on Monday night that by edging towards a referendum, May had put the Scottish conservatives “on something of a sticky wicket”.

May has insisted she will press ahead with bringing the Wab before parliament, despite widespread scepticism at Westminster that it can pass.

Since May announced her 10-point plan in a speech on Tuesday, dozens of her own MPs who supported her deal in March have said they cannot support it.

1 The government will seek to conclude alternative arrangements to replace the backstop by December 2020.

2 Should the backstop come into force, the government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland.

3 The negotiating objectives and final treaties for our future relationship with the EU will have to be approved by MPs.

4 A new workers’ rights bill that guarantees workers’ rights will be no less favourable than in the EU.

5 No change in the level of environmental protection.

6 The UK will seek as close to frictionless trade in goods with the EU as possible while outside the single market and ending free movement.

7 We will keep up to date with EU rules for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at border protecting the thousands of jobs that depend on just-in-time supply chains.

8 The government will bring forward a customs compromise for MPs to decide on to break the deadlock.

9 There will be a vote for MPs on whether the deal should be subject to a referendum.

10 There will be a legal duty to secure changes to the political declaration to reflect this new deal.

Gove appeared to hint on Wednesday morning that the government could delay the second reading of the bill – the first opportunity for MPs to vote on it – which Downing Street has said will happen in the week beginning 3 June.

Gove said there was time to “reflect” and consider the options, raising the prospect that the prime minister would have to pull the vote.

But in response to a question from the former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, May said, “We’ve already made the government’s position clear in relation to this: the second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill will be brought to the house after the Whitsun recess.”

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, robustly rejected May’s 10-point plan, and called for a general election to resolve the deadlock.

He said: “Our country needs leadership to bring us together. However, this prime minister is not the person to do this,” he said, responding to her statement in the House of Commons.

”Throughout the last three years, she has made no attempt to unite the country. She has been focused only on keeping her divided party together. It hasn’t worked. And now her time has now run out.

”She no longer has the authority to offer a compromise and cannot deliver. That is why it is time for a general election to break the Brexit deadlock and give the country a say.”

May’s spokesman insisted she would not bow to pressure to resign immediately, saying she knew there was a “job of work to do” to persuade MPs to back her deal.

Asked whether the prime minister would quit if the Conservative vote fell below 10% in the European elections, he said: “We expect a very challenging night when the result comes through but no, the PM is focused on the task at hand.”

In the Commons, May urged MPs to support the legislation, which will be published on Friday, saying that by doing so, “we can bring an end to the months – years – of increasingly bitter argument and division that have both polarised and paralysed our politics.

“We can move on, move forwards, and get on with the jobs we were sent here to do, what we got into politics to do.”

The executive of the 1922 Committee also met on Wednesday afternoon amid fresh speculation that it could change the rules to allow a no-confidence vote in May’s leadership.

The meeting was adjourned after a request to meet the chief whip, Julian Smith, at 5.30pm. It will reconvene at 6pm to discuss May’s future.

As the meeting broke up, it emerged that members were told that the second reading of the Wab is scheduled for Friday 7 June. Mark Francois, the deputy chair of the pro-leave European Research Group, said: “I bet £50 for Help for Heroes that the second reading of the Wab will never, ever happen.”

But with a string of candidates already jostling for the premiership, including several in the cabinet, May warned MPs that putting another leader in place would not change the arithmetic in parliament.

“In time, another prime minister will be standing at this dispatch box. But while I am here, I have a duty to be clear with the house about the facts,” she said.

“If we are going to deliver Brexit in this parliament we are going to have to pass a withdrawal agreement bill. And we will not do so without holding votes on the issues that have divided us the most – that includes votes on customs arrangements and on a second referendum.”