Conservative rebels prepare to 'battle for the soul of Brexit'

Tory rebels are refusing to back down as they attempt to secure a “meaningful” vote on how the government should respond if there is no agreed Brexit deal, despite Downing Street insisting there were no new concessions to be made.

MPs are set to decide the shape of Brexit next week, in what is coming to be seen as one of the most important votes so far on the EU withdrawal bill.

As Dominic Grieve, the rebels’ chief negotiator, insisted that he still hoped to win consensus in further talks, one ally described it as “a battle for the soul of Brexit”.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, one of the most prominent Tory rebels, said: “There are some who really do just want a walk-away no-deal Brexit but others, like myself, who feel just as passionately that a hard Brexit would be immensely damaging and want parliament to be able to prevent that.”

Rebels believe there is still no majority in parliament for a hard Brexit and that they can muster enough support across the Commons to carry an amendment on a meaningful vote.

But Brexiters also believe that with a handful of Labour rebels and a few Tory abstentions, they can win, and they are urging Theresa May not to make any more concessions to MPs.

On Monday, peers will vote again on the so-called Hailsham amendment. It says that if by February 2019 – only weeks ahead of the exit date of 29 March – there is no deal, MPs will be empowered to direct the government. There was a majority of nearly 100 when peers voted on the measure last month.

Some peers are talking of mobilising for the “biggest vote ever”.

There will also be a vote on the compromise government amendment which is framed to prevent a substantive vote and only allows MPs to “take note”.

On Friday, May’s spokeswoman said: “The prime minister listened to those across the house who called for the ability to express their view in a no-deal scenario, and we’ve put forward an amendment which will be debated next week.”

But when the government’s compromise amendment was published on Thursday, there were angry cries of betrayal from rebels who claimed it fell short of the promises made to them by the prime minister at a last-minute meeting in her Commons office when a revolt looked likely on Tuesday.

One rebel, Antoinette Sandbach, who has been threatened and abused on social media for her pro-European position, said that in the hour before the amendment was tabled, David Davis’s Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) “appeared to get involved and the process was hijacked and one was tabled that wasn’t agreed to”.

She said: “There was no discussion, no notification. It’s extraordinary. I’d like to see grown-up government and it seems to me that DExEU is trying to reduce parliament to a school debating chamber.

“I hope there’s open dialogue before Monday and I hope the government comes to its senses.”

Stephen Hammond, another rebel who acts as convenor for the group, accused unnamed ministers of forcing the prime minister to change her position.

Wollaston added: “There are some who would have voted for the government last week who feel the way Dominic and parliament itself has been treated has disrespected a mechanism that is used to reach consensus without inflicting a defeat. Goodwill has been very badly undermined.”

Although some argue that such a vote would never in fact happen as the government would fall if it could not get its Brexit deal through the Commons, the vote on Wednesday is seen as a key demonstration of support for the rival positions.

Party managers hope to have the EU withdrawal bill on the statute book before the EU council at the end of June. The following week, on 4-5 July, there is a two-day cabinet session at Chequers where ministers will thrash out an agreement on the shape of the much-delayed white paper on the future relationship with the EU.

The outcome of next week’s votes is likely to have a bearing on the approach the government takes as it prepares for the big quarterly council meeting in October. It has been set by the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, as the meeting where the withdrawal treaty will be agreed in outline and any loose ends relating to withdrawal are tidied up.