Theresa May faces fresh mutiny from her backbenchers after 19 Tory MPs signed a cross-party demand for the prime minister to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
The letter to Downing Street, co-signed by Labour heavyweight Jack Dromey and May ally Caroline Spelman, underlines how there is no majority in parliament for the UK crashing out of the EU without an agreement.
While it is Labour and SNP policy to block a no-deal exit, the significant number of Conservatives willing to rebel makes it clear that, even with the backing of the 11 DUP MPs, May could not win parliament’s backing.
It comes as May has returned from Brussels empty-handed after fierce opposition to her Brexit deal drove her to ask for concessions.
She is due to update MPs on Monday afternoon but has previously refused to rule out no deal should parliament reject her withdrawal plan.
The MPs who put their name to the letter include Sir Roger Gale, whose Thanet constituency would be hard-hit by lorry tailbacks under no deal, and a string of other Tories who represent areas with a strong manufacturing base, including Marcus Jones and Anna Soubry.
The letter says the group is “acutely aware that 29th March is fast approaching” and “united in our determination that the UK must not crash out of the EU without a deal”.
It adds: “Manufacturing plants employ thousands of our constituents and their jobs will be put at immediate risk if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union with no deal.”
It goes on: “A whole generation of young people have had the opportunity to access world-class training and gone onto highly skilled and well paid employment in manufacturing with iconic, global and market-leading
companies.
“As a result the aspirations of a generation have been raised.
Leaving the EU without a deal would cause unnecessary economic damage.
“Trading on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms would instantly make our manufacturers less competitive and make it very difficult for the industry to justify producing goods in the UK for export. Leaving without a deal would
make continued investment in UK manufacturing a real challenge for global firms, when they have plants in other European locations.”
The full list of MPs who signed the letter
Tory
Bob Neill, MP for Bromley and Chislehurst
Paul Masterton, MP for East Renfrewshire
Heidi Allen, MP for South Cambridgeshire
Sir Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex
Anna Soubry, MP for Broxtowe
Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury
Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield
Jeremy Lefroy, MP for Stafford
Jonathan Djanogly, MP for Huntingdon
Marcus Jones, MP for Nuneaton
Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest
Dame Caroline Spelman MP
Mark Pawsey, MP for Rugby
Nicky Morgan, MP for Loughborough
Richard Graham, MP for Gloucester
Sir Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet
Sir Oliver Heald QC, MP for North East Hertfordshire
Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby
Gillian Keegan, MP for Chichester
Labour
Jack Dromey MP
Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West
Caroline Flint, MP for Don Valley
Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington
David Hanson, MP for Delyn
Preet Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston
Jim Cunningham, MP for Coventry South
Maria Eagle, MP for Garston and Halewood
Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr
Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North
Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South
Richard Burden, MP for Birmingham Northfield
Steve McCabe, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak
Chris Matheson, MP for City of Chester
Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham
Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central
Ruth Smeeth, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North
Dr. Roberta Blackman-Woods, MP for City of Durham
Julie Elliott, MP for Sunderland Central
Stephen Doughty, MP for Cardiff South and Penarth
Emma Reynolds, MP for Wolverhampton North East
Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham
Mike Amesbury, MP for Weaver Vale
Anna Turley, MP for Redcar
Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West
Colleen Fletcher, MP for Coventry North East
Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland
Mark Tami, MP for Alyn and Deeside
Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill
Justin Madders, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston
Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham
Madeleine Moon, MP for Bridgend
Roger Godsiff, MP for Birmingham Hall Green
Dame Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking
Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South
Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood
Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East
Paul Sweeney, MP for Glasgow North East
Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East
Dame Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside
Independent
Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead
Lib Dems
Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton & Wallington
SNP
Chris Stephens, MP for Glasgow South West