Ministers in secret talks with anti-EU Labour MPs to defeat rebel Conservatives in Commons’ Brexit vote
Number 10 wants the opposition's help in seeing off Remainer Tories ahead of final MP vote to trigger Article 50
MINISTERS are holding secret talks with anti-EU Labour MPs in a bid to defeat Tory rebellions on Brexit this week.
It emerged last night that government whips have approached several Labour members who campaigned for Britain’s EU departure.
No10 wants their help to see off any bid by Remainer Conservatives to enforce conditions on Theresa May’s Article 50 negotiations.
There will be a series of crunch votes leading up to Wednesday as the bill to allow the PM to begin Brexit talks goes through its final Commons hurdle.
A bid to force Mrs May to ask for MPs’ approval before she walks away from a bad EU deal is shaping up to be the tightest fight.
But despite a wafer thin majority of just 16, Downing Street is confident it can defeat the move with the backing of a handful of pro-Brexit Labour MPs and Ulster’s 10 unionist MPs.
One senior Labour MP told The Sun: “There are conversations going on across the floor.
“Any amendment will have the effect of delaying or obstructing Brexit so I am minded to vote against them.”
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Another vote that could be tight will be a bid by former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman to guarantee permanent residence rights for EU citizens in the UK after Brexit.
Mrs May has called on other EU leaders to do an early deal to ensure this, but wants them to guarantee British citizens’ rights to stay on in Europe at the same time.
Tory Eurosceptic Steve Baker MP claimed yesterday that as many as 27 pro-EU Conservative MP are planning to side with Labour on Wednesday.
But government sources said the figure was too high, with no more than 10 Tories expected to rebel.
Meanwhile the PM’s hopes of keeping the City of London’s key access to the EU was boosted by warm words from Germany’s powerful finance minister.
Wolfgang Schauble warned that the EU must be “reasonable” and not try to punish the UK for Brexit.
He added: “London offers a quality of financial services that are not to be found on the continent”.
