Theresa May issues 'last chance' plea to Jeremy Corbyn after Tory Brexit backlash
The prime minister asks him to "compromise too" as she prepares to face the wrath of her angry backbenchers.
Wednesday 22 May 2019 13:58, UK
Theresa May has made a personal plea to Jeremy Corbyn to back her Brexit deal following a backlash over her "bold" new offer to MPs.
Appealing to the Labour leader in a letter, the prime minister declared that a fourth vote on her withdrawal agreement next month was the "last chance" to deliver Brexit.
She said her 10-point plan unveiled on Tuesday to "seek common ground in parliament" had shown she is "willing to compromise".
"I ask you to compromise too, so that we can deliver what both of our parties promised in our manifestos," Mrs May wrote.
Eagle-eyed observers noted how the prime minister misspelled the sign off to her letter, ending it: "Yours sincerley".
What the PM pitched to win over MPs:
:: Attempt to find alternative arrangements to replace backstop by December 2020
:: If that fails, Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland
:: Future relationship objectives to be approved by MPs
:: Workers' rights and border checks rules on goods to keep pace with EU
:: Environmental protections to be retained and improved
:: Seek as close to frictionless trade as possible
:: MPs to get vote on customs compromise and another referendum
Mr Corbyn has already said the prime minister's concessions are not enough to earn Labour's support, but promised to "look seriously" at the details of her new offer when they are published in full.
He has also raised "a question of the deliverability of it" given the jostling by Conservative MPs for the keys to 10 Downing Street.
Mrs May has previously promised to put her new Brexit package to MPs next month in the form of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB).
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But Environment Secretary Michael Gove refused to guarantee the WAB will still come to the Commons in the week beginning 3 June, as planned.
Mrs May has already faced a furious backlash from Tory MPs to her new proposals and will likely face further anger when she makes a statement to the Commons today.
"We will reflect over the course of the next few days on how people look at the proposition that has been put forward," Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"But there has to be a vote on a withdrawal agreement implementation bill."
He added: "I think that, rather than saying anything precipitate, I think everyone should take an opportunity to reflect on what the PM will say later today and look at the bill."
Within hours of Mrs May revealing her new Brexit plan in a speech on Tuesday, Tory MPs who had reluctantly lent their support to the prime minister in previous Brexit votes pledged to oppose her proposals this time round.
One called the package "f****** awful" and predicted to Paste BN she would be on course for a defeat of 150 votes.
Potential leadership candidates such as Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab announced they would oppose the deal.
Another MP openly questioned whether it would "ever" be tabled in parliament given the backlash.
And the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the government's confidence and supply partners, insisted that "the fatal flaws" of the deal "remain".
Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, told Paste BN the prime minister should now abandon her package and not put it to the Commons.
He said: "It's far too weak, it doesn't really offer anything new or anything bold.
"It's already pretty clear that it's heading for a pretty big loss and, frankly, the prime minister would do well just to admit defeat and she should announce today that she's not going to put the vote because it's clearly heading in the wrong direction."
If she does succeed in finally getting her withdrawal agreement passed, the prime minister has promised to resign in order to allow a successor to take over the next stage of Brexit negotiations - on the future UK-EU relationship.
She is facing the prospect of a humiliating result for the Conservatives at Thursday's EU elections - taking place due to her decision to delay Brexit until 31 October - which could further intensify the pressure on her to go.
But Mr Gove predicted "the prime minister will be the prime minister next Tuesday".
If the vote on the WAB does go ahead in June, it will come in a busy political week.
US President Donald Trump's state visit, D-Day commemorations and the Peterborough by-election are all due in the same period.