{"id":431,"date":"2018-02-23T11:39:28","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T10:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=431"},"modified":"2018-02-23T11:39:28","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T10:39:28","slug":"theresa-may-at-risk-of-commons-defeat-as-labour-shifts-on-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=431","title":{"rendered":"Theresa May at risk of Commons defeat as Labour shifts on Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeremy Corbyn<\/a>\u00a0could use a key Brexit speech on Monday to pave the way for Labour to inflict a Commons defeat on the government, by backing a rebel Tory amendment seeking to keep Britain in \u201ca customs union\u201d.<\/p>\n

With Theresa May expected to unveil her vision for departure from the EU next week, following eight hours of talks with key ministers at\u00a0the prime minister\u2019s Chequers country retreat<\/a>, she now faces the prospect of Labour sabotaging the carefully choreographed process.<\/p>\n

In what will be a closely watched speech, Corbyn is expected to signal that Labour is prepared to back the\u00a0UK staying in a customs union with the EU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The party has said for some months that customs union membership is a \u201cviable\u201d outcome but a series of interventions from shadow cabinet members in recent days, including Emily Thornberry and John McDonnell on Thursday, have suggested\u00a0Labour<\/a>\u00a0is edging towards making it the preferred result.<\/p>\n

Drafts of the speech have been circulating, with some shadow cabinet members insisting it would mark a significant departure. But other senior Labour figures suggested Corbyn would merely \u201cflesh out and deepen\u201d the party\u2019s existing stance; and some shadow ministers are concerned about alienating pro-leave Labour voters.<\/p>\n

Tory rebel Anna Soubry responded to the apparent shift in Labour\u2019s position by tabling a fresh version of an amendment to the government\u2019s trade bill, calling on the government to remain in \u201ca customs union\u201d. She said a large number of Tory MPs had already contacted her to offer their support.<\/p>\n

The bill is not expected to return to parliament until after Easter, and Labour has not yet made a firm decision on which amendments it could back.<\/p>\n

But if Corbyn whipped his MPs to support it, Conservative MPs could inflict a highly damaging defeat on May that would amount to a direct challenge to the prime minister.<\/p>\n

Corbyn\u2019s speech on Monday will come as May prepares to ask her full cabinet to sign off on the outcome of Thursday\u2019s all-day meeting of her 11-strong Brexit strategy and negotiation sub-committee, known as\u00a0her \u2018war cabinet\u2019<\/a>, at Chequers.<\/p>\n

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The conclusions of the talks will be put to the full cabinet on Tuesday morning and, once agreed, outlined by May later in the week, in a speech being billed by No 10 as a major step in outlining the government\u2019s final\u00a0Brexit<\/a>\u00a0strategy.<\/p>\n

Eight hours of talks at the 16th-century mansion in Buckinghamshire, broken up by a dinner of sweetcorn soup and beef rib with parsnip mash, saw May and members of her senior team lead discussions on elements of the Brexit strategy, a Downing Street source said.<\/p>\n

May led on \u201cthe overall future economic partnership the UK wishes to reach with the EU\u201d, they said, with Michael Gove, the environment secretary, helming the talk on agrifoods. Business secretary Greg Clark spoke on the auto industry and international trade secretary Liam Fox spoke on digital trade.<\/p>\n

One senior Brexiter claimed that \u201cdivergence was the victor\u201d in the Chequers talks, with the prime minister making a decisive intervention \u2013 though it will be unclear what that could mean in practice until she delivers her speech.<\/p>\n

The degree to which the UK will be able to vary its laws and regulations from those of the EU after Brexit has been a key sticking point.<\/p>\n

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The meeting at Chequers came amid a frantic period of activity by May and her ministers as they seek to cement a final Brexit policy acceptable to all, which has already seen\u00a0Boris Johnson<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0David Davis<\/a>\u00a0make speeches.<\/p>\n

The prime minister is expected to make her own contribution next week, possibly on Thursday. Clark is also due to speak about Brexit at the Mansion House in the City of London the same day.<\/p>\n

One senior Conservative MP and former minister said neither the Chequers summit nor May\u2019s speech were expected to involve any major announcements or shifts of position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will be incremental,\u201d they said. \u201cI don\u2019t think\u00a0Theresa May<\/a>\u00a0does big and bold. Expectations are definitely low.\u201d<\/p>\n

The MP said a key indicator of how close the cabinet was to agreeing on a policy would be whether or not individual ministers continued to promote their own agendas, as when\u00a0Johnson contradicted May<\/a>\u00a0shortly after her Brexit speech in Florence in September.<\/p>\n