Three-way Brexit split for Shropshire's rebel Conservative MPs
One is sticking by his opposition, another is changing his mind and the other says she is still not sure what to do.
As the Brexit crisis lurches into another week, Shropshire’s Tory rebels have been considering their next step.
Those who had opposed Theresa May's deal had been put under enormous pressure to perform a u-turn over the weekend, with Theresa may expected to put her Brexit deal to MPs again this week.
However Speaker John Bercow’s dramatic intervention on Monday means that it is now unlikely there will be a third 'meaningful vote' this week.
Mr Bercow provoked uproar at Westminster on Monday when he ruled that the Government could not bring the Prime Minister’s deal back for a third vote unless there were substantial changes.
The Speaker's ruling came as Brexiteer North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson continued to refuse to support Theresa May's deal.
He said he would still like to see the UK leave the EU with a no deal Brexit, adding: “We are confronted with two unacceptable choices but it will be our fault if we cast a positive vote in favour of either for fear of the other.”
Kawczynski changes mind
One who has changed his mind is Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham.
He said last week’s vote to rule out a no deal Brexit meant that Mrs May’s deal was now the only form of Brexit on offer.
He had previously called for the Prime Minister to scrap the deal, and work towards a ‘managed no-deal’ exit from the EU instead.
Mr Kawczynski said he had been listening to the views of people in his constituency, and had detected a clear change of mood in the past few days.
“Parliament last week took no deal off the table.
“I think that was a mistake, I voted against it, but they have taken no deal off the table.
“I have been lobbied in an unprecedented way by senior members of my association, councillors, nearly every one of my councillors now wants me to back the deal.
“Then the local NFU and the local business chamber.
“The mood in my constituency is changing quickly.
“They voted for Brexit, they worry that if the issue is protracted and there is a major extension to Article 50, that we could lose Brexit.”
Allan undecided
Telford MP Lucy Allan, who voted against the deal last week, said she had yet to decide how she would respond if it was brought before the Commons again this week. But she said she would not bow to threats that there would be no Brexit if the deal was not passed.
“It’s not yet clear whether there will be another vote on the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement this week, whether there are changes to it and what the terms of any proposed extension are,” she said.
“I will carefully consider the terms of the withdrawal agreement if it does come before parliament again.
“I will vote on the merits of the deal, and not be influenced by the threat of what others might do to stop Brexit subsequently, which we cannot predict.”
Pritchard backs PM
Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard voted for the Prime Minister’s deal last week, having previously opposed it.
He echoed Mr Kawczynski’s sentiments, saying that now ‘no deal’ had been ruled out, the Prime Minister’s deal was the only way of guaranteeing Brexit.
He said: “I voted to keep No Deal on table. The vote was lost. It’s now raw politics, the Prime Minister’s deal, with a 12-week technical extension, delivering Brexit, or a two-year EU imposed Article 50 extension.
"The 29th March date was lost last week, that is past. Now we need to ensure Brexit not lost entirely.
“A default Brexit on March 29, as some hope, will be removed in statute within days if the withdrawal agreement fails.
“The only way to keep Brexit or stop the EU extending Article 50 by 12-24 months is to back the PM’s deal.
“It’s not perfect but it’s more perfect than no Brexit at all.Time to back the PM’s deal.”
Ludlow MP Philip Dunne and Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies have consistently supported the deal. They say that while it is not perfect, it is the clearest way to ensure Brexit takes place.
Veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash, who lives at Upton Cresset, near Bridgnorth, said he would not be voting for the deal when it returns to Parliament.
“The backstop will not have been resolved, and therefore the constitutional status of Northern Ireland remains completely undermined,” said the MP for Stone. “We cannot be put into this position.”
