Theresa May must 'try something different' to get Brexit deal through Parliament, Amber Rudd says

Amber Rudd has told Theresa May she must “try something different” if she is to get her Brexit deal through parliament, after EU leaders refused to reopen negotiations on the controversial plan.

The work and pensions secretary urged the prime minister to build a parliamentary “coalition” behind a new Brexit plan, admitting that the current deal may never be approved by MPs.

In a newspaper article, Ms Rudd said the prime minister would have to “engage with others and be willing to forge a consensus” with opposition parties if she is to overcome sweeping opposition to her proposed deal.

But in a sign of growing cabinet divisions over Ms May’s next move, Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, dismissed the suggestion, saying the government could not afford to rely on the votes of Labour MPs.

Ms Rudd is one of five ministers, alongside Philip Hammond, David Lidington, David Gauke and Greg Clark, who are said to be urging Ms May to hold a series of “indicative votes” on the various Brexit outcomes, including the possibility of another referendum, to find a plan that could command a Commons majority.

Her article is the first time a cabinet minister has publicly urged the prime minister to change tack.

It came as other senior Tories also called for a new approach, amid mounting pressure on Ms May to reach out across party lines when she updates the Commons on Monday on her most recent talks with EU leaders.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Ms Rudd raised the prospect that Ms May’s Brexit deal might never be passed by parliament and said MPs needed to “abandon outrage and accusations”.

Instead, she said, the prime minister should “ignore such siren voices calling us to the rocks of no deal” and seek to build a parliamentary “coalition”.

“I support the PM’s deal, because it can deliver Brexit and allow us to move forward,” she wrote. “But many of my colleagues aren’t yet persuaded. It’s possible enough will be – but they might not.

“We need to try something different. Something that people do in the real world all the time, but which seems so alien in our political culture – to engage with others and be willing to forge a consensus.

“That requires politicians to be more prepared to work with anyone who – like me – is willing to accept you can’t always get what you want. It means taking a more practical, sensible and healing approach.”

She called on Ms May to build a “coalition of those who want what’s best for this country” and urged MPs to “argue a little less and compromise a little more”.

The UK would be in “serious trouble” if “MPs hunker down in their different corners”, she added, insisting that a no-deal Brexit “mustn’t be allowed to happen”.

However, Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the government should be “cautious” about relying on Labour votes.

Asked about Ms Rudd’s article, he said: “Amber is absolutely right that we need all MPs to think about the national interest, but I think we also have to be cautious about the idea that we’re going to get large amounts of support from the Labour Party, because that hasn’t been forthcoming in the past.”

Instead, the government must continue to try to secure MPs’ support for a “version” of Ms May’s deal, he said, while also being prepared to leave the EU without an agreement.

It comes a day after former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan and senior Tory backbencher Nick Boles also urged Ms May to adopt a cross-party approach.

Mr Boles said the prime minister must stop trying to “go it alone” and instead “open cross-party discussions”, while Ms Morgan called on her to seek “cross-party support and proper discussions to secure that”.

Ms May was forced to call off the Commons vote on her deal earlier this week after admitting she would lose by “a significant margin”. Instead, she promised to secure further assurances from the EU on the issue of the Northern Ireland backstop, which Brexiteers fear could trap the UK in a customs union permanently.

The prime minister’s pleas were rebuffed by Brussels on Thursday, however, with EU leaders united in their insistence that negotiations on the withdrawal agreement could not be reopened.

Ms May is likely to face fresh anger from MPs on Monday when she will have to admit to the Commons that she has failed to secure any new guarantees on the backstop.