May's government risks collapse over 'meaningful vote' dispute

Theresa May’s government is in danger of crumbling if party rebels defeat her Brexit deal with the EU, a senior Tory MP has warned.

Tom Tugendhat, chair of the influential Commons foreign affairs committee, said the ‘meaningful vote’ coming later this year will be treated as something of a confidence vote, ramping up the pressure on the government on the row over parliament’s say on the course of Brexit negotiations.

The Prime Minister is developing a new amendment that will allow parliament to have some form of say on the terms of the final deal but risks alienating MPs on both sides of the party.

The amendment must be tabled on Thursday before the Withdrawal Bill returns to the House of Lords on Monday for its final stages.

Denying that parliament would be given the final say on negotiations, Brexit secretary David Davis’ department said in a statement on Tuesday: "We have not, and will not, agree to the House of Commons binding the government's hands in the negotiations."

Infighting in the party has escalated over the course of the week, with Rees-Mogg on Thursday accusing Tory remainer Dominic Grieve and his cohorts of trying to halt the UK’s exit from the EU altogether after the threat of their rebellion forced the government to make concessions.

On Twitter ITV’s political editor Robert Peston said: "I am hearing Tory rebel remainers are happy with government’s redrafting of amendment giving MPs a “meaningful vote” on brexit deal or no-deal. “We are in a good place”, says one. Which presumably means true brexiters won’t be. Hello @Jacob_Rees_Mogg."

Rees-Mogg and other prominent Brexiters are understood to be reluctant to concede ground to pro-EU leaning colleagues, believing the power of the party’s EU supporting rebel faction to have been overestimated.