Rebellion Threat As 19 Tory MPs Demand That Theresa May Rules Out 'No Deal' Brexit

Cross-party letter makes clear there is no majority for crashing out of the bloc.
Theresa May could face a fresh rebellion
Theresa May could face a fresh rebellion
PA Wire/PA Images

Theresa May faces fresh mutiny from her backbenchers after 19 Tory MPs signed a cross-party demand for the prime minister to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

The letter to Downing Street, co-signed by Labour heavyweight Jack Dromey and May ally Caroline Spelman, underlines how there is no majority in parliament for the UK crashing out of the EU without an agreement.

While it is Labour and SNP policy to block a no-deal exit, the significant number of Conservatives willing to rebel makes it clear that, even with the backing of the 11 DUP MPs, May could not win parliament’s backing.

It comes as May has returned from Brussels empty-handed after fierce opposition to her Brexit deal drove her to ask for concessions.

She is due to update MPs on Monday afternoon but has previously refused to rule out no deal should parliament reject her withdrawal plan.

The MPs who put their name to the letter include Sir Roger Gale, whose Thanet constituency would be hard-hit by lorry tailbacks under no deal, and a string of other Tories who represent areas with a strong manufacturing base, including Marcus Jones and Anna Soubry.

May ally Caroline Spelman has signed the cross-party demand
May ally Caroline Spelman has signed the cross-party demand
PA Archive/PA Images

The letter says the group is “acutely aware that 29th March is fast approaching” and “united in our determination that the UK must not crash out of the EU without a deal”.

It adds: “Manufacturing plants employ thousands of our constituents and their jobs will be put at immediate risk if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union with no deal.”

It goes on: “A whole generation of young people have had the opportunity to access world-class training and gone onto highly skilled and well paid employment in manufacturing with iconic, global and market-leading
companies.

“As a result the aspirations of a generation have been raised.
Leaving the EU without a deal would cause unnecessary economic damage.

“Trading on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms would instantly make our manufacturers less competitive and make it very difficult for the industry to justify producing goods in the UK for export. Leaving without a deal would
make continued investment in UK manufacturing a real challenge for global firms, when they have plants in other European locations.”

The full list of MPs who signed the letter

Tory

Bob Neill, MP for Bromley and Chislehurst

Paul Masterton, MP for East Renfrewshire

Heidi Allen, MP for South Cambridgeshire

Sir Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex

Anna Soubry, MP for Broxtowe

Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury

Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield

Jeremy Lefroy, MP for Stafford

Jonathan Djanogly, MP for Huntingdon

Marcus Jones, MP for Nuneaton

Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest

Dame Caroline Spelman MP

Mark Pawsey, MP for Rugby

Nicky Morgan, MP for Loughborough

Richard Graham, MP for Gloucester

Sir Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet

Sir Oliver Heald QC, MP for North East Hertfordshire

Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby

Gillian Keegan, MP for Chichester

Labour

Jack Dromey MP

Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West

Caroline Flint, MP for Don Valley

Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington

David Hanson, MP for Delyn

Preet Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston

Jim Cunningham, MP for Coventry South

Maria Eagle, MP for Garston and Halewood

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr

Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North

Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South

Richard Burden, MP for Birmingham Northfield

Steve McCabe, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak

Chris Matheson, MP for City of Chester

Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham

Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central

Ruth Smeeth, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North

Dr. Roberta Blackman-Woods, MP for City of Durham

Julie Elliott, MP for Sunderland Central

Stephen Doughty, MP for Cardiff South and Penarth

Emma Reynolds, MP for Wolverhampton North East

Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham

Mike Amesbury, MP for Weaver Vale

Anna Turley, MP for Redcar

Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West

Colleen Fletcher, MP for Coventry North East

Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland

Mark Tami, MP for Alyn and Deeside

Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill

Justin Madders, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston

Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham

Madeleine Moon, MP for Bridgend

Roger Godsiff, MP for Birmingham Hall Green

Dame Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking

Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood

Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East

Paul Sweeney, MP for Glasgow North East

Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East

Dame Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside

Independent

Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead

Lib Dems

Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton & Wallington

SNP

Chris Stephens, MP for Glasgow South West

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