Theresa May has launched a last, desperate attempt to win Commons support on Brexit by dramatically vowing to reopen her deal with Brussels.
In a bid to woo hardline Tory Eurosceptics, the prime minister said she would seek to change the text of the UK-EU withdrawal agreement and revise the Northern Irish “backstop” that many of her MPs vehemently oppose.
Changes to the backstop, an insurance policy that potentially ties the UK indefinitely to EU trade rules, would allow her to go back to Brussels and get a fresh deal, May said.
Two weeks since she suffered an unprecedented 230-vote Commons defeat on her deal, May also sought to win round pro-EU Tory critics by promising to come back with a new vote on her updated deal by February 14.
Earlier, May told the cabinet that she was ready to reopen talks with the EU on the Brexit deal, despite repeated warnings from Brussels that it will not renegotiate proposals that took two and a half years to hammer out.
The decision to revisit the text of the agreement could unlock the backing of the European Research Group (ERG), for an amendment tabled by Tory grandee Sir Graham Brady to “replace” the backstop with ‘alternative arrangements’.
May told MPs: “What I’m talking about is not a further exchange of letters, but a significant and legally binding change to the withdrawal agreement.”.
But the PM admitted Brussels may not swallow the changes. “It will involve reopening the Withdrawal Agreement, a move that will have limited appetite among our European partners.”
ERG chairman Jacob Rees-Mogg swiftly gave a clear signal that he would soften his stance and support the PM, especially after May welcomed an alternative deal to possibly extend the transition period to Brexit.
Speaking to a packed Commons, May said: “Today we need to send an emphatic message about what we do want.
“We have the chance to show the EU what it will take to get a deal through this House of Commons.”
She stressed that she wanted “the clearest possible mandate” to go back to Brussels.
No10 said that if the Brady amendment was passed, May would interpret that as a demand for a new Northern Ireland solution, including an ‘alternative’ backstop, a time-limit or unilateral exit clause.
The PM said she aimed to return to parliament “as soon as possible” with a revised deal, which will be subject to a “meaningful vote” of MPs.
If no new deal is reached by February 13, the PM will make a statement to parliament that day and table an amendable motion for debate the following day. Her spokesman said that a vote would also take place “the same day”, on February 14.
The new timetable sparked fresh speculation that parliament’s half-term recess will be cancelled, as the Commons is currently due to rise for a 10-day break in mid-February.
May faced a separate challenge on her Brexit plans after Labour confirmed it will back a cross-party amendment to delay exit day, pushing it back from March 29 by at least three moths.
The plan, tabled by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Tory Nick Boles, is set for a knife-edge vote along with the Brady amendment on Tuesday night.
May said that Cooper’s plan, as well as a proposal by Dominic Grieve to force a series of debates on Brexit ‘Plan Bs’, “simply delays the point of decision”.
“I have the most profound doubts about the consequences they would lead to,” she added.
May, whose plan was also welcomed by the DUP, gave Eurosceptics another key demand in praising alternative Brexit plan, crafted by Tory Leavers and Remainers in talks with junior minister Kit Malthouse.
She said that the Malthouse plan – to redraft the ‘backstop’ and possibly leave the EU without an agreement – was “a serious proposal that we are engaging with sincerely and positively”.