THERESA May has sought to bolster her fragile position by bringing back her staunch ally Amber Rudd to the UK Cabinet as the SNP leadership claimed the Brexit crisis was now the “greatest illustration” of why Scotland should be independent.
Ms Rudd, immediately on her appointment as the new Work and Pensions Secretary, urged colleagues to “pull together” and support the beleaguered Prime Minister, who faces another turbulent week ahead with the possibility of a no-confidence vote by Tory rebels.
Party whips met in London to draw up a weekend charm offensive, thought to involve telephoning scores of colleagues to persuade them against joining the rebels and warning them of the prospect of a Corbyn government should Mrs May be toppled.
Ardent Brexiteer Steve Baker initially claimed he was confident the necessary 48 signatures had gone into Sir Graham Brady, Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, demanding a no-confidence vote in Mrs May. But, later, he appeared to row back, suggesting it was "much more likely" the 48 signatures would be achieved next week.
It is believed there is no Scottish Tory among the 20 or so Conservatives, who so far have submitted letters to Sir Graham.
One senior Brexiteer source claimed the number of signatures was "close" to 48, noting: "People are consulting with their associations over the weekend."
But Ms Rudd urged Tory colleagues considering sending in letters to "think again," saying: "This is not a time for changing our leader. This is a time for pulling together, for making sure we remember who we are here to serve, who we are here to help; that's the whole country.”
A similar message was delivered by David Lidington, the PM’s de facto deputy, who, after talking to business leaders about Brexit in Edinburgh, was asked what he would say to those rebels submitting no-confidence letters.
"Withdraw them,” he declared, “because I don't think you're doing the country any good by attacking the Prime Minister in this way.”
The Cabinet Office Minister said he had seen “no plausible alternative” from the PM’s critics to the draft withdrawal agreement.
“If it does comes to a challenge, the Prime Minister will win handsomely and she will deserve to do so," he added.
The PM on Friday also had a conference call with Conservative Association Chairmen as part of her bid to sell the draft withdrawal agreement.
Earlier, the prospect of a further meltdown of her Government was averted when Michael Gove, mooted to have been on the verge of resigning, threw his support behind Mrs May, saying he “absolutely” had confidence in her and the focus should be on “getting the right deal in the future”.
It was suggested the Environment Secretary had turned down the role of Brexit Secretary after the PM had refused his demand to be able to renegotiate the terms of the draft deal.
While No 10 was adamant, as indeed was Brussels, that no renegotiation was possible, it is believed Leave Cabinet Ministers led by Andrea Leadsom will meet early next week to see if the draft deal could be changed to enable the UK to leave the backstop mechanism of its own accord; the current terms mean it could only do so with the say-so of the EU27.
It is thought securing a change on this key point could help Mrs May get the draft deal through the Commons; at present, the parliamentary arithmetic appears against her.
As well as re-appointing Ms Rudd to the Cabinet, the PM surprised Westminster by promoting little known Health Minister Stephen Barclay, who voted Leave in the 2016 referendum, to replace Dominic Raab as Brexit Secretary.
However, No 10 pointed out his role, now that the main withdrawal negotiations were over, would not be the same as his predecessor’s as it would concentrate on “domestic delivery” ie getting the necessary legislation through Parliament.
Meanwhile today, Ian Blackford argued the Brexit crisis “demonstrates the case for independence,” insisting the UK was “gripped by a self-imposed crisis; signed, sealed and delivered by the Tory Party”.
The Nationalist leader at Westminster, claiming Brexit was a “national disaster” that would leave Scottish families poorer, added: “The complete failure of the UK Government to treat Scotland’s democratic will with respect is the greatest illustration of the case for independence.”
He added: “Independence will put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands instead of a Westminster, that’s well past its sell-by date.”
However, his comments came after Nicola Sturgeon refused to say if she would demand another Scottish referendum now the broad terms of the draft withdrawal agreement are known, telling MSPs: “Let’s wait and see how it plays out.”
In Edinburgh on Friday, asked if the UK Government was likely to change its position on withholding consent for a second independence poll, Mr Lidington said: “I don’t see any sign of the UK Government’s approach changing. We think that issue was settled when the Scottish people voted last time round.”
He suggested Scottish ministers should instead focus on improving the NHS, school standards and economic productivity.
Later, given the warnings by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists that the draft deal threatens the integrity of the Union, No 10 was asked how worried Mrs May was about this.
A spokesman said the PM in the Brexit talks was “doing everything she could to defend the Union and protect the integrity of the United Kingdom and she was successful in removing the Northern Ireland-only customs backstop from the withdrawal agreement; protecting the Union has been a key motivation in the way she has approached these talks”.
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