Cabinet ministers have ridiculed hardline Tory Brexiteer MPs opposed to Theresa May’s EU deal, comparing them to ‘mid-fifties swingers’ who dream of hooking up with Hollywood stars.
In a surreal exchange during their weekly cabinet meeting in Downing Street, the PM’s top team mocked backbenchers who believe that they could get a better deal if they vote down her plan next week.
During a discussion on why May’s proposals were the best on offer, environment secretary Michael Gove joked that her critics were “like mid-50s swingers waiting for Scarlett Johansson to turn up”.
Fellow minster Amber Rudd, interjected: “On the theme of everyday sexism, Pierce Brosnan as well.”
And following Rudd’s reference to the former James Bond star, justice secretary David Gauke quipped that Labour’s own unworkable alternative was like “waiting for Scarlett…on a unicorn”.
May joined in the laughter at the gags, with one source saying: “It was a humorous moment.”
Asked about the ‘swingers’ exchanges, the PM’s official spokesman simply smiled but did not deny them.
“I suspect the [Cabinet] minute will not reflect that,” he said.
But the meeting was also dominated by the more serious business of several ministers stepping up their own warnings to May that they would not tolerate a no-deal Brexit.
Rudd said history would take a “dim view” of the cabinet if they allowed the UK to crash out of the EU without an agreement with Brussels.
The work and pension secretary also again called for Parliament to be allowed to debate and vote on other options, saying: “More than ever we need to find the centre, reach across the House and find a majority for what will be agreed.”
And home secretary Sajid Javid admitted, after prompting by Chancellor Philip Hammond, that a disorderly Brexit would undermine efforts to return to Europe migrants who made unfounded asylum claims.
Rudd added that as his predecessor at the Home Office she also knew that a no-deal exit would make Britain “less safe” by opting out of the European arrest warrant and other EU-wide tracking systems for criminal and terror suspects.
In a further signal of the defiant tone of ministers, business secretary Greg Clark told MPs he had always been clear that “no-deal should not be contemplated” because it would cripple many British firms who trade with the EU.
The PM appeared to acknowledge for the first time that she could lose next week’s vote, saying she would ‘move quickly’ in those circumstances.
Last night, business minister Richard Harrington revealed he would rather quit his post than agree to a no-deal outcome, adding he was “not alone”.
Yesterday, another minister, Margot James, said no-deal was so dire that the government may have to delay the UK’s exit day from the EU beyond March 29 if the Commons rejects May’s deal.
Meanwhile, No.10 was braced for a Commons defeat on a cross-party move to make it more difficult for the Treasury to set tax rates if the UK left the EU without an agreement.
The Tory party decided to whip its MPs against an amendment to the Finance Bill tabled by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, but Downing Street suggested the government could live with what would be mere “inconvenience” caused by their plan.
No.10 confirmed for the first time that the meaningful vote on the PM’s deal would take place next Tuesday, after May delivered a final speech advocating her plan.
Her spokesman said that the PM was still “working on” getting fresh assurances from the EU on issues like the customs backstop plan, but any such assurances would be presented to MPs before the vote.