Theresa May’s $3.5bn to ease no-deal Brexit pain

Theresa May’s cabinet was last night preparing to unveil a £2 billion ($3.5bn) package to ease the pain of a no-deal Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May listens to Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons. Picture: AFP

Theresa May’s cabinet was last night preparing to unveil a £2 billion ($3.5bn) package to ease the pain of a no-deal Brexit, while Brussels was set to release details of its plans should Britain crash out of the EU with no deal in place.

The escalation of no-deal ­scenarios came as the Conservative and Labour parties engaged in a theatrical pantomime in Westminster about whether the Prime Minister had the confidence of the House of Commons.

The practicalities of a no-deal — from organising air space ­details to opening extra truck lanes at Calais and Dover, and ­arranging special priorities for medical supplies — will get greater resources and prominence to be rapidly implemented as the March 29 Brexit deadline looms.

The EU has already prioritised a no-deal scenario on citizens and businesses: residency and visa-­related issues, financial services, air transport, customs, sanitary rules, the transfer of personal data, and climate policy.

But in London, some cabinet ministers wanted talks to touch on what could constitute a feasible plan B option if the Brexit deal were voted down when it was put to parliament in the week starting January 14.

Mrs May told parliament there were ongoing talks with the EU over the backstop, something the EU leaders have denied.

Several cabinet members, such as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, have agitated for a “managed no-deal’’ that would involve paying to ease out of EU regulations, and rolling into the World Trade ­Organisation over a period of time. But Mrs May and the EU have refused to develop such an idea.

Overnight it was unclear if the Commons would vote on a ­Labour-tabled vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

Labour accused the Tories of running scared if they weren’t to hold the vote; while the Conservatives said Labour had “bottled it’’ because it had called for a non-binding vote, rather than go for the vote of no confidence in the government, which if successful would start the motions for a fresh general election.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn caused uproar in the house when he tabled the motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister at the end of the parliamentary session on Monday, rather than at the beginning, and it briefly caught the Tories on the backfoot.

But Mrs May’s 119 detractors from last week’s Conservative Party vote of no confidence got behind her. Publicly, Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “May I congratulate the Prime Minister on winning the confidence of Conservatives last week and ­assure her that she therefore commands my confidence, too.’’

But Mrs May was not impressed at Labour’s tactics and walked out of the Commons when Mr Corbyn tabled the vote of no confidence.

The government is under no obligation to make time for the motion against her and it is non-binding in any case. Legal experts said Labour might have to wait until an “opposition day” in the parliament when it could be voted on. However, Labour threatened to bring forward its planned vote of no confidence in the government from after the Brexit deal vote to this week if the Tories did not allow an immediate vote on Mrs May. “It’s very clear that it’s bad, unacceptable, that we should be waiting almost a month before we have a meaningful vote on the crucial issue facing the future of this country,’’ Mr Corbyn said.

“The Prime Minister has obdurately refused to ensure a vote took place on the date she agreed, she refuses to allow a vote to take place this week and is now, I ­assume, thinking the vote will be on January 14 — almost a month away. This is unacceptable in any way whatsoever.’’

Tory backbenchers weren’t impressed, but are unlikely to vote against her in a confidence motion. Conservative chair of the Treasury committee Nicky Morgan publicly attacked Mrs May’s ­refusal to put the deal to a vote this week, saying “business cannot understand why we are going on holiday for two weeks’’. Conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly, one of the few to express support for Mrs May’s Brexit deal, warned that the party was “haemorrhaging support’’ while business confidence and investment was also being battered.

“Let’s hold the vote and move on,’’ he said, also pushing to allow MPs an indicative vote.

Mrs May has rejected holding any indicative vote, and repeated that she would not allow any second referendum.

“This house is deeply uncomfortable about the backstop and we want to go further still in assurances and discussions with Donald Tusk and Jean Claude Junker and others,” she said.

“Further clarification is possible, so we are holding further discussions to get further legal assurances … there is only 14 weeks (until the Brexit deadline) and many MPs need to take a ­decision soon.’’