Kawczynski appeals for DUP to abstain on Brexit as Paterson stands firm on opposition to deal

A Shropshire MP has called for DUP members to abstain if they cannot bring themselves to vote for the Prime Minister's Brexit deal, in a last-gasp attempt to get it passed through parliament.

Shrewsbury and Atcham's Daniel Kawczynski said he had spoken to several Democratic Unionist MPs in an attempt to save Theresa May's controversial withdrawal agreement.

Mrs May yesterday told Tory MPs she would stand down if her Brexit deal gets through.

But Mrs May’s sacrifice may prove to be in vain, with resistance among sections of the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs and the DUP still strong.

Owen Paterson is now the only Shropshire MP still refusing to support Mrs May's deal after Telford's Lucy Allan joined Mr Kawczynski and The Wrekin's Mark Pritchard in performing a U-turn and backing Mrs May's deal.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson also changed his mind yesterday, saying he feared the House of Commons would "steal Brexit" if the deal isn't passed.

Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies and South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne have both consistently supported the Prime Minister's deal.

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Earlier in the week Mr Kawczynski appealed to members of the ERG such as Mr Paterson to back the plan, saying they risk no Brexit at all if they continue in their opposition.

"I have urged some friends in the DUP to abstain over withdrawal agreement if they cannot support it," he said.

"That way we could still just about get it across finishing line.

"We must prevent our Remainer Parliament from destroying Brexit."

Meanwhile the deep divisions in Parliament were highlighted when MPs rejected eight alternative options on the way forward for Brexit in a series of indicative votes.

Opposition

There have been signs this week that Eurosceptic opposition to the deal has shown signs of softening.

ERG chairman Jacob Rees-Mogg, one of the deal's most outspoken opponents, has said he would now back the deal if the DUP supports it, arguing that "half a loaf is better than no bread".

However North Shropshire MP Mr Paterson has showed no sign of softening his opposition.

He said any politician, Labour or Conservative, who tried to prevent Brexit would reap severe consequences.

Mr Paterson, a prominent member of the ERG, said leaving on World Trade Organisation terms remained the default position if a deal could not be agreed.

"We, in the ERG, are being ridiculed for being extremists and ultras, but all we're trying to do is see our manifesto promise delivered, and the result of the referendum honoured," he said.

"If you look at our voting record, the only times we have voted against the Government has been on the withdrawal agreement."

Mr Paterson also questioned the Prime Minister's assertion that the suspension of the devolved Northern Ireland assembly meant the province had been unable to prepare properly.

Mrs May said the Northern Ireland civil service did not have the powers to take the decisions that would be needed if the UK left the European Union with no deal.

"It is possible to address those issues, but had that not been done by 29 March, the question about the impact on Northern Ireland, where there is no devolved government, would be an important one," she said.

Mr Paterson said he was still optimistic that Britain would leave the EU.

Meanwhile, veteran Eurosceptic MP Sir Bill Cash has written to Mrs May questioning her right to delay leaving the EU.

He questioned the "lawfulness of her actions", objecting for several complex reasons, including the fact Parliament was not allowed to vote on it.