Theresa May faces fight to keep Brexit on track as Brussels puts the boot in and rivals push for delay
THE battle for Brexit was on last night as Theresa May’s rivals claimed she had lost any mandate to take Britain out of the EU single market.
They said it was clear the humiliated Tory leader had lost any majority for a “hard” Brexit — or clean break from the EU bloc without a deal — in the Commons.
Former Chancellor George Osborne said: “Hard Brexit went into the rubbish bin tonight.”
He told the BBC: “I don’t think hard Brexit has a majority in the House of Commons any more and that will mean a big rethink.”
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Scottish Tory party leader Ruth Davidson also urged the government to pursue an “open Brexit, not a closed one”.
But furious Eurosceptics warned Mrs May she would face a leadership challenge if she watered down her Brexit demands.
And they blasted Brexit Secretary David Davis who had suggested it would be difficult to leave the single market and customs union if the Tories failed to win a majority.
The bitter row came as EU officials mocked Mrs May and warned the clock was ticking on Britain’s departure in March 2019.
In Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk said: “We don’t know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end.
“Do your best to avoid a ‘no deal’ as a result of ‘no negotiations’.”
Yesterday Lib Dem chief Tim Farron demanded the PM delay the start of negotiations until the Government “reassessed its priorities” and told the public.
And he said the case for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal “will only get stronger”.
Former Labour leadership contender David Miliband tweeted: “So good Labour stronger. So good Brutal Brexit rejected.”
City experts slashed the odds of a “soft” Brexit, saying it would suit the DUP because of fears over Northern Ireland’s economy.
They added that with a working majority of just two in the Commons, it would take a rebellion by only a handful of Tory MPs to block Mrs May in Westminster.
The Centre for European Reform said the Tories could seek a “cross party consensus” with Labour.
But they said it could force them to water down demands on immigration and stay under the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction.
Across Europe, leaders had little sympathy for the PM. Ex-Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt called the result “another own goal”.
German conservative Markus Ferber said the British political system was “in total disarray”.
He said: “Instead of strong and stable leadership we witness chaos and uncertainty.”
And the EU’s Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said: “We need a Government that can act. With a weak negotiating partner, there’s a danger the negotiations will turn out badly.”
Meanwhile the Leave.EU campaign said Mrs May “arrogantly gambled with our Brexit and blew it” and called for fresh leadership.
And former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “Whatever happens Theresa May is toast, it is just a matter of time.”
But former Tory leader and Brexit champion Iain Duncan Smith urged Mrs May to sit down and “get on with it”.