May says Brexit deal '95% settled', but party tensions rise

Theresa May will tell the Commons on Monday that 95% of the Brexit deal with the European Union is settled but could face a revolt from members of her cabinet and the wider Conservative party after she proposed looser divorce terms.

Having last week proposed to remove the time limit on the Irish border backstop option, May will announce on Monday that she has resolved problems regarding Gibraltar’s status after Brexit, developed a protocol around the UK military base in Cyprus and agreed on a mechanism to solve any future issues with the EU, according to Downing Street.

Nevertheless the issue of the Irish border still needs to be negotiated.

The address will come just days after a reported 700,000 people marched in protest in London on Saturday, demanding a second referendum about Brexit. Furthermore, May faces growing concerns from within the Tory Party that could threaten to force a vote of no confidence in her role as Prime Minister.

Tensions within the Tory Party are rising after Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab admitted on Sunday that there might not be a time-limited Brexit backstop regarding the border.

The government originally told the EU it would not accept an arrangement that would have Northern Ireland or Britain as a whole aligned with the EU without a fixed end date since it would potentially harm opportunities to sign new trade deals with other countries. According to Bloomberg, the government has changed its position and would now be willing to accept in order to finally secure a deal with the bloc.

"It would be rather odd if we remained in a temporary mechanism without a route out. It could be time-limited, it could be another mechanism," Raab told the BBC. "There needs to be something for controlling how long we are there for to avoid any sense we are left indefinitely in a sort of customs union limbo."

A cabinet source told Business Insider that May was focused on creating something which "feels" like a time-limit, rather than an actual end date.

Restive Conservative backbenchers are scheduled to convene for a midweek meeting of the party’s 1922 Committee, where chairman Graham Brady is reported to have received many several letters of no confidence but not the required total of 48 that would require a vote to try and oust her.

Michael Hewson, a market analyst at CMC Markets, said on Monday that the committee meeting could see Brexiter unhappiness "given further oxygen", with reports that as many as 46 Tory MP’s have written to demand the PM be replaced, "however the question of who might replace her remains an open one as any new candidate will need the support of over 159 MP’s to win any final ballot".

Furthermore, according to the Guardian, it emerged on Sunday that 41 MP’s would not sign up to a Brexit deal based on her Chequers proposals. This would block any final deal regardless of the opposition’s support.