May faces first wobble as Tory MPs threaten revolt over plans to not give Parliament say over Brexit deal terms
The angry backbenchers warned they may not back the Prime Minister in tomorrow's vote to decide if she should be forced to share Brexit plans with Parliament
MORE than a dozen Tory MPs have warned they could side with Labour tomorrow to call on Theresa May to share her Brexit plans with Parliament.
The rebellion by the angry backbenchers may be big enough to inflict a first Commons defeat on the new PM.
In a show of force, the group - which includes Leave backers and former ministers - want to pressure Downing Street to keep as close trade links with the EU as possible after Britain leaves.
Labour have called a vote tomorrow afternoon to try to force Mrs May to allow MPs and Lords to “properly scrutinise” her Brexit demands before talks begin by the end of March, when she triggers the formal ‘Article 50’ departure process.
related stories
In an eleventh hour wobble last night, Mrs May tabled her own amendment to the Opposition’s motion in a bid to buy off Tory rebels.
The concession means Mrs May will agree to respect the Commons’ right to hear her plans, but only if they don’t undermine her negotiating hand.
The PM will also ask MPs to agree the process “respects the decision of the people of the UK when they voted to leave the EU on 23 June”.
One of the Tory rebels, MP Heidi Allen, said last night: “I will think very carefully about what I will do when I see the wording of the motion.
“We as MPs are entitled to see what the government is going to negotiate.”
Labour last night demanded answers to 170 different questions on the government’s Brexit plan - one for each day before Mrs May’s deadline to trigger Article 50.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry accused the Government of “blundering into this process without a clear endgame in mind”.