Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are days away from a deadlock Brexit deal after local elections drubbing piles on pressure
The PM is hopeful she will reach a compromise to end three years of chaos and get Brexit 'over the line'
THERESA May is days away from striking a deal with Jeremy Corbyn to break the Brexit deadlock.
The PM is optimistic of reaching a compromise to end three years of chaos and get the process “over the line”.
She has stepped up her search for a deal after last week’s local election drubbing, which saw the Tories lose 1,300 councillors.
Last night a senior Conservative declared: “We’re within touching distance.”
The Labour leader’s mind has also been focused after the voter backlash led to his party losing 100 seats when he hoped to gain 800.
Both sides fear they face wipe-out at the Euro elections on May 23 over their combined failure to deliver on the referendum result.
We have to find a way to break the deadlock and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.
Conservative MP
But Brexiteers have warned it could lead to more Cabinet resignations if Mrs May caves in to too many of Mr Corbyn’s demands.
They will not tolerate her signing up to a “Brexit lite”, such as staying in a customs union.
One minister said: “We will not compromise on what it means to leave the EU. Any deal with Labour must not breach our red lines.”
Mrs May admitted doing business with Mr Corbyn made her feel “uncomfortable”.
'TRYING TO FIND A WAY'
But she insisted: “We have to find a way to break the deadlock and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.
"We will keep negotiating and keep trying to find a way through.”
Senior figures from both parties will meet on Tuesday in a bid to thrash out a deal.
Deputy PM David Lidington, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay will sit down with Labour’s Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey and other senior figures.
The leaders will be drafted in when they are close to a deal. Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: “We’re getting closer and closer.
"There’s not much between the two parties as I understand it from people in the room.”
The Sun On Sunday Says
LIKE a punch-drunk boxer, the Tory Party is reeling from the local election disaster and walking into the potential knockout blow of a deal with Labour.
Theresa May is days away from unveiling a soft Brexit compromise, cobbled together in desperation with an equally battered Jeremy Corbyn, which risks infuriating voters even more.
It doesn’t matter what they call it, this will be a customs union in all but name.
Such an arrangement will block Britain from striking its own lucrative trade deals after quitting the EU, leaving us shackled to Brussels for years.
If this climbdown is not enough, weak-willed Mrs May also appears to have bowed to Labour’s wish to keep us tied to EU rules on workers’ rights.
The PM seems willing to cave in to all the Labour leader’s demands, just as she did with Brussels Eurocrats.
Even if this diluted deal does gain Parliamentary and EU backing, there is barely enough time to prevent the £100million European elections on May 23.
So millions of fed-up and furious voters will deliver an even more devastating verdict at the ballot box.
After Thursday’s vote it’s clear people don’t want the wool pulled over their eyes on Brexit. They want a clean break.
Ignoring them will be politically fatal.
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