Final Say: Theresa May admits Brexit can be stopped by new referendum as cabinet back draft deal

Theresa May has admitted Brexit can be stopped, with her senior officials accepting a new referendum on Britain’s departure from the EU is possible.

The unprecedented admission from the top of government came as the prime minister revealed her cabinet had begrudgingly backed the draft Brexit deal struck by negotiators earlier this week.

But speaking outside Downing Street, she issued a stark warning to Tory rebels that threats to tear down the proposals and her leadership could mean there is “no Brexit at all”.

There are widespread claims that angry backbenchers are preparing to launch a bid to topple the prime minister within days, while speculation that cabinet ministers could still quit is rife.

Eurosceptics are likely to be further enraged by a clause in the 585-page draft deal allowing an unspecified extension to the Brexit transition – with the text simply saying it could run until “20XX”.

Ms May emerged from the black door of No 10 to confirm tentative cabinet support following an intense five-hour cabinet meeting, at which almost 30 of her top ministers spoke.

But a shared glass of wine at the end of the marathon session could not cover the deep divisions that had been exposed – with the deal and Ms May now facing a critical period.

In a short statement she targeted a warning directly at those intent on bringing the deal down, saying: “When you strip away the detail, the choice before us is clear.

“This deal, which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our union – or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all.”

Asked later how the PM felt there could be ‘no Brexit’, her spokesman said: “You should see that through the prism of parliament, in that the main opposition party has actively said that Brexit can be stopped, there is a People’s Vote movement which we have set out our opposition to, and any other number of important votes that will have to occur between now and the 29th of March.”

It is the first time Downing Street has so clearly stated not only that Brexit is not a foregone conclusion, but that a new vote is possible.

The Independent’s Final Say campaign has pushed for the British public to have a say on the outcome of Brexit through a People’s Vote referendum – with more than a million people signing the website’s petition.

Around 10 ministers are said to have criticised the draft agreement including home secretary Sajid Javid, defence secretary Gavin Williamson and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Others including international development secretary Penny Mordaunt, commons leader Andrea Leadsom and pensions secretary Esther McVey are also said to have raised deep concerns.  

Officials later accepted that some of the issues dealt with had been “uncomfortable”, with Ms May herself saying “the choices before us were difficult”.

A key point of contention bound to emerge in coming days will be a potential extension to the Brexit transition, supposed to provide time for the UK’s future relations with Brussels to be hammered out.

Brexiteers do not want the period to go beyond its current December 2020 end date, but one clause could allow the government a one-off extension up to a maximum number of years yet to be specified with the text currently only saying that it could not go beyond “20XX”.

Officials said the year would have to be filled in at a later date, but before the European Council summit that will now likely be held at the end of November.

If the transition were not extended, the UK may have to enter the backstop arrangement – a customs union with the EU –  until a new relation is formed.

But claims from Downing Street that it had won significant changes to the legal text to prevent the backstop being indefinite, were unlikely to assuage Brexiteers who wanted a legal right for the UK to leave the arrangement unilaterally.

Provisions in the text meaning there are likely to be some different arrangements for Northern Ireland could well see Ms May lose the support of her DUP partners in government.

The Independent reported on Wednesday that civil servants have been told to leave DUP contacts off planning emails and other documents from now on, indicated a weakening of their relations with the Tories.

The level of Brexiteer discontent has raised expectations of further letters of no confidence in Ms May from Tory MPs, with a total of 48 needed to trigger a vote on her position.

Sources within Westminster said the delivery of letters to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady was “imminent”.

When asked whether it was time for Ms May to go, Tory MP Mark Francois, vice chair of the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG), said: “There are a lot of my colleagues who are very annoyed with this deal and we will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days.

“There are a lot of people who are anxious about what it contains, there are a lot of people who are anxious about the way the whole process has been handled and we don’t feel that we have negotiated effectively or in Britain’s best interests.”

ERG chairman Jacob Rees-Mogg heightened tension by writing to all of his Conservative colleagues calling on them to oppose the draft deal and arguing that it failed to “match the expectations set out in Theresa May’s Lancaster House speech”.

He went on: “The proposed agreement will see the UK hand over £39bn to the EU for little or nothing in return … For these reasons I cannot support the proposed agreement in parliament and would hope that Conservative MPs would do likewise.”

The cabinet’s backing, however, means the EU are set to give the green light to a European Council summit at the end of November, which if successful could see a vote on the draft deal in the house of commons in early December. 

The Independent has launched its #FinalSay campaign to demand that voters are given a voice on the final Brexit deal.

Sign our petition here