May under pressure from Brexit-divided Tories

Bloomberg

Theresa May declared her “absolute determination” to make a success of Brexit as she came under new pressure from Conservatives on both sides of the Brexit debate.
Writing in the Sun newspaper on Sunday, the British prime minister pledged to leave the European Union’s single market and the customs union and build “a new relationship with EU partners that takes back control of our borders, our laws and our money.”
With less than a year to go before Britain leaves the bloc, May’s Tory government remains deeply divided with a battle raging over future customs arrangements.
Conservatives demanding a clean break have rejected two middle-of-the-road customs options May has proposed, with leading campaigners such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson fearing she will tie the UK too closely to the EU.
But Tories who want to keep the UK inside the customs union are plotting to join the opposition Labour Party to defeat May in a crucial vote on the issue that could come later this month. If she sides with either wing, May faces a backlash that could oust her from power.

Partnership Option
One option that has been floated is for a customs partnership, under which the UK would collect tariffs on behalf of the EU and then refund any companies whose goods aren’t destined for use in one of the 27 member states. Ministers say it remains under consideration, despite May being outnumbered by opponents at a cabinet meeting last week.
Business Secretary Greg Clark disclosed that he spoke to Toyota Motor Corp. officials last week to raise concerns that thousands of jobs could be at stake if auto plants that rely on just-in-time deliveries of components sourced from outside the country moved out of the UK. He said Toyota has almost 3,500 UK employees.
“Doing what it takes to get the minimum of frictions is something we have made a public commitment to, and we need to make sure we get that right,” he said in an interview on the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show”.
Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg, who issued a thinly veiled warning last week that his euroskeptic group of lawmakers could withdraw its support from May, dismissed Clark’s warnings and said the proposed customs partnership would effectively leave Britain inside the single market.