Theresa May’s authority was dealt a double blow on Tuesday night as Eurosceptic Tory MPs rebelled against her bid to delay Brexit and Brussels signalled it would reject a short-term fix.
The Commons rubber-stamped the PM’s decision to request an extension of the Article 50 deadline to June 30, by 420 to 110, despite a backbench Brexiteer rebellion leaving the government bruised.
But it came as EU Council President Donald Tusk indicated the bloc would insist on a flexible extension “as long as necessary and no longer than one year”.
This would hand May a period up to April 2020 safe from no-deal to thrash out new Brexit plans but also the risk of fresh Conservative rebellions should she steer the UK toward a soft Brexit.
A total of 99 Conservatives, including Dominic Raab, David Davis and Jacob Rees-Mogg, rebelled on Tuesday night to vote against the government.
Cabinet Brexiteers, including trade secretary Liam Fox, transport secretary Chris Grayling and Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, were among 80 Tory MPs listed as abstaining on Tuesday’s government motion, as the Brexit crisis once again left May’s premiership hanging by a thread.
As it stands, the UK will leave the EU with or without a deal on Friday. The power to grant any extension lies solely in the hands of EU leaders, who meet to decide the UK’s fate on Wednesday.
May had no choice but to trigger the Commons vote on Tuesday, after a bill drafted by backbenchers Yvette Cooper and Oliver Letwin, which forces ministers to avoid a no-deal Brexit, was fast-tracked through parliament this week.
Speaking on behalf of the government, solicitor general Robert Buckland told MPs they “must find a way to find a plan for the way forward” to leave the EU with a deal.
He said “nobody who respects the outcome of the referendum” could wish the UK to participate in the European Parliament elections next month, he added.
But accusing the government of being part of an effort to frustrate the Brexit vote, Tory MPs slammed the proposed delay.
“If you agree to extend yet again, be in no doubt that you will unleash a further tsunami of chaos and uncertainty from which none of us will benefit,” said East Worthing and Shoreham Tory MP Tim Loughton.
Former minister Owen Paterson, meanwhile, said: “This is a bad motion spawned by a bad bill.”
He added: “Members opposite must understand the anger outside this House. The frustration will turn into something which I would not want to quantify.”
Brexiteer anger re-erupted last week when May invited Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to Number 10 to thrash out a compromise after her own withdrawal agreement was roundly rejected three times by MPs.
May followed this up by writing to European Council Brussels for a flexible extension - or “flextension” - which would allow the UK to pull out at any time should a deal be agreed to June 30.
Speaking after the vote, Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of backbench Tory Eurosceptics, told HuffPost that although the government won the vote by 420-110, just 133 of parliament’s 313 Tory MPs backed the government.
He added: “An abstention is a strong indication that you are against in these circumstances, so it looks as though the bulk of the Conservative Party is against an extension.”
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 committee of Conservative MPs, used a meeting at Number 10 to warn the PM she faced a backlash over the new cross-party strategy.
Outspoken Eurosceptic MPs Andrea Jenkyns, Mark Francois and James Duddridge have demanded Brady trigger an “indicative vote” on May’s leadership.
Under Tory rules, however, MPs cannot hold an official confidence vote in May until December - 12 months after the MPs poll she survived in 2018.
Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday that cross-party talks would continue on Thursday should the European Council agree an extension.
A spokesman said: “We remain completely committed to delivering on Brexit, with both sides working hard to agreeing a way forward, appreciating the urgency in order to avoid European elections.”
But, in a letter to the heads of the 27 remaining member states Tusk suggested the year-long extension.
He wrote: “The flexibility would allow to terminate the extension automatically, as soon as both sides have ratified the Withdrawal Agreement.
“The UK would be free to leave whenever it is ready. And the EU27 would avoid repeated Brexit summits.
“Importantly, a long extension would provide more certainty and predictability by removing the threat of constantly shifting cliff-edge dates.
“Furthermore, in the event of a continued stalemate, such a longer extension would allow the UK to rethink its Brexit strategy.”