Tag: Malt house

Hard Brexiters have warned Theresa May that the only proposal they are likely to support to break the Brexit impasse is a version of the “Malthouse compromise”, which envisages removing the backstop from the draft European Union exit treaty. So start stockpiling now | Matthew d’Ancona Read more Steve Baker, the vice-chair of the European Research Group, said he and other Conservative Eurosceptics could not support the alternative they believed the prime minister favoured – an addendum to the existing EU withdrawal agreement. Baker is one of five backbench MPs who will meet Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, on Monday, in the first meeting of a new working group aimed at examining whether technological solutions could eliminate the backstop. “As far as I’m concerned, the Malthouse compromise is the only game in town if we’re going to reach an agreement in Brussels,” Baker said, indicating that only rewriting the draft withdrawal agreement to remove the backstop would satisfy Tory Brexiters. She is preparing to go to Brussels armed with specific proposals as to how to break the Brexit deadlock after the first deal May negotiated was defeated by 230 votes in January, the worst defeat suffered by a government in modern times. Asked about this, he said: “We need to leave the European Union in a smooth and orderly way. Play Video 1:06 The cabinet minister also dismissed weekend newspaper reports that Downing Street strategists were considering holding a snap general election on 6 June if May could not get a Brexit deal through parliament. “The last thing we want is a general election, the people will never forgive us for it,” Javid told The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC. They have been given a very clear mandate, now it’s our job to get on with it.” There are signs that the Conservatives have started to gear up for a possible snap election, with the party’s chief executive, Sir Mick Davis, having placed the Tories on a “war footing” last week and increased fundraising activities under the cover of the local elections in May. When he responded that the party HQ was focused on the local elections, it was dismissed as a “non-denial” and other MPs joined in, calling on him to rule it out completely.