May reveals Plan B (and it’s just like Plan A): PM WON’T rule out a no-deal Brexit or call another referendum as Brexiteers rally behind her
The PM pictured in the Commons today
Theresa May today refused to rule out a no deal Brexit and blasted calls for a second referendum – as she unveiled her Brexit Plan B.
She vowed to go back to Brussels to try to win new concessions on the hated Irish backstop as she scrambles to win back the support of the DUP and Tory benches.
And although this is the same strategy she tried to win support for her deal first time round, she hopes the added time pressure before Britain leaves the EU on March 29 will bring fresh concessions.
She hit out at calls for Brexit to be delayed, and said MPs must be ‘honest’ and admit the only way to avoid crashing out is by passing her deal or revoking Article 50.
And she lashed Jeremy Corbyn for refusing to join cross-party Brexit talks – urging him to reconsider, while she scrapped the £65 fee charged to EU citizens who want to stay in the UK after Brexit following an outcry at the charge.
Tory Brexiteers rallied round her plan to return to the EU, with Boris Johnson praising her ‘determination’ and Penny Mordaunt hailing her for keeping no deal on the table.
But Tory Remainers slammed her for not giving any new information or plan, with Heidi Allen warning her leader she cannot go on delaying and delaying.
Mr Corbyn mocked the PM’s Plan B and compared it to ‘Groundhog Day’, as he pointed out it looks a lot like her ‘Plan A’ deal – which was defeated by a staggering 230 votes just a week ago.
The PM has been scrambling to find a way through after her deal was humiliatingly crushed in the Commons last week.
But in a statement to MPs this afternoon, Mrs May suggested she will focus on bringing the DUP and Tories back onside rather than cross-party talks.
The plan received warm words from Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, who said he thinks a deal can be done if the backstop is ‘sorted’.
While Tory Brexiteer rebel in chief Jacob Rees-Mogg hinted at a softening
