Theresa May's roadshow campaign to sell her Brexit plans to Britain has run into deep trouble on day one.
The first blow came early this morning when loyalist Tory MP Sir Michael Fallon warned the Prime Minister that her proposals looked “doomed” as they were the “worst of all worlds”.
Hours later, Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party that is keeping Mrs May in No 10, told the BBC that the Prime Minister’s tour, which takes in Northern Ireland, was a “waste of time” because she would not get Parliament to back her proposed deal.
She also claimed that Mrs May had “given up” trying to get a better deal for Northern Ireland. Criticism also grew on the Tory benches, with Steve Double saying it was only a “matter of time” before a no-confidence vote was held.
With Mrs May in Wales to try to drum up support for her Brexit blueprint, Mr Double tweeted: “She shouldn’t be touring the country selling her plan to the British people but listening to those we represent. She should be our representative in Brussels not the EU’s representative in UK.”
Downing Street suffered another setback when its attempts to woo Labour MPs to back the Government over Britain’s departure from the EU also appeared to fall flat. Mrs May’s de facto deputy David Lidington and No 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell held a briefing yesterday with more than 20 opposition MPs.
Mrs May would need the support of nearly all centrist Conservative MPs to have any chance of getting the withdrawal agreement, struck with Brussels, and the future trade outline through the Commons.
Amid the mounting criticism of Mrs May’s deal, the pound lost ground against the dollar and the euro.
With speculation rife about ministers plotting a Plan B to Mrs May’s proposals, eyebrows were raised when Business Secretary Greg Clark and Justice Secretary David Gauke were spotted breakfasting with Jo Johnson, who recently quit as transport minister demanding a second referendum. Fellow ministers Margot James and Sam Gyimah were also present. It was not clear what they were discussing.
Former Defence Secretary Sir Michael spoke out just hours after the Prime Minister’s Brexit blueprint came under attack from Donald Trump.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My fear is that this deal gives us the worst of all worlds: no guarantee of smooth trade in the future and no ability to reduce the tariffs that we need to conclude trade deals with the rest of the world. So unless the House of Commons can be persuaded ... then I think the deal is doomed.”
He also warned No 10 against seeking to “brush off” Mr Trump’s comments that the plans could make it difficult to strike a comprehensive trade agreement between the US and the UK.
Mrs May fought back after the president’s intervention. “If you look at the political declaration that sets out the future framework for our relationship with the European Union, it clearly identifies we will have an independent trade policy,” Mrs May said in Builth Wells, Powys.
"We will be able to strike trade deals around the rest of the world," she said.
She said a special group had already been set up "looking at exactly this issue".
The PM also rejected Mrs Foster’s accusation that she had “given up” on trying to get a better Brexit deal.
Some 150 young protesters descended on the Commons demanding a second referendum.
