UK cabinet at war over May’s Brexit plan

Bloomberg

UK Prime Minister Theresa May lost control over the warring factions within her government as the Cabinet descended into open conflict over her Brexit plans at an angry meeting.
According to people familiar with the matter, seven senior pro-Brexit ministers spoke out against a proposal that could allow the UK to stay inside the European Union’s tariff regime indefinitely.
May was said to have reacted angrily to the intervention during the meeting with what was described as her trademark “death stare.” Then other ministers launched a counter attack and warned that the UK will crash out of the EU with no deal unless she is able to compromise.
May lurching from crisis to crisis has been the defining narrative of her time in office. What’s changed is that the prime minister does seem to have reached the point where as the end of Brexit nears, it’s increasingly apparent her biggest struggle is at home rather than in Brussels.
“May is in her most perilous position to date domestically,” said Eurasia Group Managing Director Mujtaba Rahman. There is “intense speculation that euroskeptic MPs will soon force a vote of confidence in her as Tory leader.” The infighting in the British government escalated at a critical time in the Brexit process, with time running out and talks still stuck on the thorny question of how to avoid customs border checks at the land frontier between Ireland and the UK.
A summit of EU leaders broke up last week with no agreement and plans for a special gathering to sign off on the terms of the divorce next month have been shelved. On the EU’s part, preparations are being stepped up to cushion the impact of a chaotic split in case negotiations fall apart, according to people familiar with the issue.
Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting in May’s Downing Street offices was described as punchy, impassioned and containing fireworks by several people familiar with the discussions, who declined to be named discussing private conversations.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is said to have led the assault on May’s plan, with support from Home Secretary Sajid Javid, and fellow cabinet ministers Penny Mordaunt, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Geoffrey Cox and Liz Truss.
The group demanded a fixed end-date to the so-called backstop guarantee to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, or at least some kind of mechanism for the UK unilaterally to escape the arrangement if necessary For these ministers, the idea that Britain should be tied into the EU customs regime potentially forever is a betrayal of the vote to leave the bloc and would be a loss of national autonomy.