THERESA MAY’s
Brexit negotiations face fresh turmoil after a former party loyalist denounced her Chequers agreement and revelations emerged about a planned coup to undermine the Prime Minister’s official policy.
The revelations imply the Prime Minister is failing to win over support for her Chequers plan on all sides of the Conservative party.
Writing in a newspaper column, Nick Bowles, Grantham and Stamford MP, paid tribute to Mrs May’s “sense of duty and her resilience” but denounced her negotiations plans as unworkable.
Explaining his decision not to support the Prime Minister’s plan, Mr Bowles accuses the EU of failing to take the agreement seriously as well as citing its unpopularity within his constituency.
In the Sunday Telegraph, he wrote: “During the summer it has become clear that the EU is not going to accept the terms of the Chequers Agreement, and is intent on treating it as an opening bid.
“Meanwhile meetings with key supporters in my constituency have brought home to me the dismay that many voters feel at what the Prime Minister is proposing.”
However, Mrs May has insisted she will not be pushed around by Brussels.
Writing in the same newspaper, Mrs May said: "I will not be pushed into accepting compromises on the Chequers proposals that are not in our national interest."
Mr Bowles’s withdrawal of support for the Chequers plan comes at the same time the Sunday Times reveal Sir Lynton Crosby is manoeuvring to derail the PM's EU withdrawal agenda with a coordinated national campaign.
The election strategist advised Mrs May in last year's general election when the Tories lost their majority in a shock poll result and is thought to be angry at the way he was blamed for the disastrous result.
Sir Lynton is a friend of
Boris Johnson and is thought to also be planning to drum up opposition to the Brexit plan to help boost the former Foreign Secretary’s chances of becoming Prime Minister.
The wavering support for Mrs May’s Brexit plan among loyalists, along with a coordinated coup against her negotiating position, could leave the Prime Minister unable to pass the deal through Parliament.
Warning against derailing the Brexit process, a senior Tory source told The Mail on Sunday: “Boris hasn’t thought this through.
“His plan could result in us delaying leaving the EU, or even not leaving at all.
“If that happens, the party membership would never forgive him.”
It is thought Mrs May is considering whether to announce her intentions to stand down within a year after Brexit in order to try and reduce any rebellion her EU negotiations.
The Sunday Times also report the Prime Minister’s aides have held conversations with civil servants about whether to call a General Election if the Brexit deal is voted down by Parliament.