Theresa May's unspoken catchphrase rings out loudly: 'Back my Brexit deal or delay'

Mrs May says a timely Brexit is "within our grasp" but Sky's Beth Rigby says another "catchphrase" has been heard loud and clear.

Theresa May flew to Sharm el Sheikh on Sunday with news that this week will not bring with it a second "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal and a new catchphrase: "It is within our grasp to leave with a deal on March 29."
Whenever she was asked whether she'd have to postpone Brexit given that she has been forced to delay the critical Commons vote again with just 32 days to go until B-day, she trotted out this line.
Back home, many of her Remain-backing ministers and MPs were left dismayed, even furious, that the prime minister is asking for more negotiating time with the EU, and are demanding that she delays Brexit rather than risk a no-deal exit.
Three cabinet ministers - Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Gauke - have publicly indicated they could support a cross-party amendment to give parliament the power to stop the UK from leaving without a deal. Other ministers are ready to join.
And while she stuck doggedly to her script in Sharm el Sheikh, behind the scenes the sands seem to be shifting.
Four senior ministers who I would put firmly in the resignation-watch camp all said to look out for her statement to MPs on Tuesday.
Expectations are high that the prime minister will offer a compromise deal to avoid a government walk-out, promising ministers a vote in a couple of weeks for a two-month delay. Effectively, then, kicking the can down the road for a little longer yet.
It would be an excruciating - and risky climbdown for Mrs May.
Excruciating because she has so publicly set her face against even countenancing any delay to Brexit.
Highly risky because she could still face defeat, or fury, or both.
Defeat because enough Conservative Remainers may decide enough is enough and vote for an amendment to delay Brexit regardless of the prime minister's offer.
And fury because her Brexiteers might well blow up. They have made no secret of their determination to "end her government" if she decides to delay Brexit.
But in the face of this adversity, Mrs May is coming home from Sharm el Sheikh perhaps with a little more confidence that, if she holds her nerve (her words, not mine), she can get this deal through.
In the past day she has, on the fringes of the EU-Arab summit, held serious talks with serious EU players.
She has had meetings with Germany's Angela Merkel, her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, Ireland's Leo Varadkar, EU Council President Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Theresa May won't be able to ask for big changes at this conference
Image:EU Council President Donald Tusk is among those Mrs May has spoken to in Egypt
It gives rising hope within ministerial circles that Mrs May can get a legal codicil agreed in Brussels that in turn can enable her attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, to change his legal advice to reassure Brexiteers over their doubts on the backstop.
"He's not window dressing," is how one senior minister put it to me on Mr Cox engaging in talks in Brussels. "These are serious and substantive talks that will probably go on until later this week."
But for all the photoshoots in Sharm el Sheikh, the hard facts remain unchanged.
The concessions that many of her Brexiteers are demanding will not be forthcoming with EU leaders adamant that the Withdrawal Agreement will not be re-opened and the backstop to ensure no hard border in Ireland will remain in the legal exit treaty.
As she flies back to London to face MPs on Tuesday, Mrs May knows the walls are closing in. Her choices are difficult and divide her team.
There are those who think a shift away from "my deal or no deal" towards "my deal or Brexit delay" might concentrate the minds of enough Brexiteers to get her plan over the line.
There are others who think it would be political suicide for the prime minister to take no-deal off the table.
What she does understand - and made clear on her trip to Egypt - is that the EU is not going to sign off any deal before it gets through the House of Commons.
She isn't ready to go there yet and neither is her party. So she is playing for time once again.
The best Mrs May can hope for this week is that her cabinet and ministers give her another two weeks grace to win that critical vote in parliament before before they demand she extend Article 50 and scrap no-deal.
The prime minister wants her party and the public to believe "it's within our grasp to leave with a deal" by the end of March.
But the unspoken catchphrase of this trip has been heard loudly by us all: back Mrs May's deal or delay.

Comments