Today’s political headlines include May’s vow to carry on despite the resignations, Gove considering his position after rejecting the Brexit Secretary, no confidence vote in May expected next week and businesses concerned by political turmoil.<\/b><\/p>\n
May vows to carry on despite resignations over Brexit deal<\/span> Gove considering position after rejecting Brexit Secretary role<\/span> No confidence vote in May expected next week<\/span> Businesses concerned by political turmoil<\/span> EU members worried deal is too soft<\/span> Poll shows Tory supporters back May<\/span> Chance of Labour MPs backing deal \u2018ebbing away\u2019<\/span> Lords vote not to suspend peer accused of sexual harassment<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has vowed to \u2018see this through\u2019, despite the resignations of Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey and various junior figures over her Brexit deal yesterday. She warned that rejecting the deal would cause \u2018deep and grave uncertainty\u2019 and said it was \u2018the right one for our country\u2019.\u00a0The Daily Telegraph\u00a0<\/em>adds\u00a0<\/a>that it has been told by \u2018sources close to Arlene Foster\u2019 that the DUP\u2019s deal with the Conservatives will be abandoned unless May is replaced.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove is considering his position. Yesterday Theresa May offered him the role of Brexit Secretary, but he would only accept on the condition that he could renegotiate the deal, and she was unable to agree. The paper adds that International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt is calling for a free vote on the deal and that this has yet to be definitively rejected.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph\u00a0<\/em>claims<\/a>\u00a0that a no-confidence vote is expected in Theresa May next week after the chair of the European Research Group, Jacob Rees-Mogg said that he would write to the chair of the 1922 Committee calling for one, although he denied planning a \u2018coup\u2019 and said that he was not \u2018offering myself as leader\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that businesses \u2018expressed horror\u2019 at yesterday\u2019s political turmoil. Josh Hardie, the CBI\u2019s deputy director general warned that crashing out of the EU without a deal \u2018would be a disaster\u2019, while Adam Marshall, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce said that he was concerned about the reaction of \u2018major international investors\u2019 to the uncertainty which would be created if the deal collapsed.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>claims<\/a>\u00a0that some EU members are concerned that the proposed deal may be too soft on the UK, including France, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. They are concerned about the implications of the UK remaining in a customs union with the EU and want tighter guarantees to make sure that it is prevented from being able to undercut EU standards. There are also worries about fishing rights post-Brexit.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A\u00a0poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted for the\u00a0Daily Mail\u00a0<\/em>shows that Conservative supporters do not support attempts to depose Theresa May, with respondents backing her by around 2 to 1 over both Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg. However, just 27% of all voters back the deal, with 49% being opposed. 42% of voters would back a People\u2019s Vote, but 38% oppose it.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>, the Prime Minister\u2019s chances of persuading Labour MPs to back her Brexit deal are \u2018ebbing away\u2019, despite her hopes that some of them would vote for it to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Eurosceptic Labour MP Graham Stringer told the paper that he would not back the deal and that he hadn\u2019t found anyone else who would.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that peers voted not to suspend Lord Lester of Herne Hill, despite a report by the House of Lords standards commissioner finding that he offered the campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera \u2018inducements\u2019 to sleep with him. Peers raised concerns the investigation was unfair, but Sanghera said the vote left her feeling \u2018bullied and re-victimised\u2019.<\/p>\n