Theresa May receives Brexit plan boost as key Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom throws support behind deal

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Theresa May’s Brexit plan has been boosted by strong backing from senior Cabinet minister and Eurosceptic Andrea Leadsom.

Mrs Leadsom stepped out in support of the Prime Minister’s plans before Mrs May takes a tough grilling from MPs over the deal on Thursday.

Showing support for the deal, Mrs Leadsom said it had been a “challenging journey” but Mrs May’s plan was the only deal on the table, the Daily Mail reported.

The intervention came as the Government confirmed MPs will debate the Brexit deal eight hours a day for five days leading up to a crunch vote on December 11.

Andrea Leadsom, the Tory Party's Leader of the House of Commons
REUTERS

MPs will be allowed to vote on six amendments to the Government motion backing the deal during the Commons showdown.

Commons Speaker John Bercow will decide which amendments get to be debated and decided upon by MPs ahead of the so-called meaningful vote on Government proposals.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is appearing on ITV's This Morning on Thursday to push his case, said the party could not back Mrs May's plan as it failed to ensure participation in a "strong" single market and customs union.

The move came as Labour signalled a new referendum would be inevitable if Mrs May's plans are voted down.

The comments followed a warning from the Bank of England that without an exit deal the UK could be tipped into a recession worse than the financial crash, with an 8 per cent cut in GDP, unemployment surging by as much as 7.5 per cent and house prices falling by almost one-third.

Also a cross-Government analysis found the UK economy would be 9.3 per cent smaller after 15 years if Britain leaves without a deal and falls back on World Trade Organisation rules, compared with remaining in the EU.

While the UK economy would continue to grow after withdrawal, Britain would be worse off under any Brexit scenario than if it stayed in the EU, the Government paper found.

There could be further stark warnings on Thursday, when the Commons Treasury Committee publishes the Financial Conduct Authority's analysis of the Brexit deal and political declaration.

But arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg was dismissive of all the claims, telling the Daily Telegraph: "This is Project Hysteria.

"Before the referendum we were threatened with a plague of frogs. Now they warn of the death of the first born.

"The Bank of England has gone from being discredited to being hysterical."

Pro-Europe Tories hit back with former minister Jo Johnson urging party colleagues to vote down Mrs May's deal.

The ex-minister, who is brother to leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson, is using a speech on Thursday to say that if the Conservatives do not change course they face a bigger electoral defeat than 1997.

And security minister Ben Wallace will say that a no-deal Brexit would leave both the EU and UK at greater risk.

He will say on Thursday that leaving the bloc without an agreement would have a "real impact" on authorities' ability to protect the public.

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