Theresa May appeals to Tory members in Chequers Brexit plan letter

Theresa May - Image credit: PA Images

Theresa May has appealed to Tory members to back her latest Brexit plan in a letter setting out the details of the Chequers agreement reached last month.

In the three-page document, the Prime Minister acknowledges the “strong feelings members of our party have on this important national issue”.

But she also insists that the UK has not given ground to Brussels, saying the Chequers plan is in “no sense a concession to their demands”.

“I have been very clear that we are rejecting the two models they have put forward,” she wrote.

The UK Government’s latest offer to EU chiefs was agreed by the Cabinet in a meeting at May’s country house, Chequers, last month, and included plans for a free-trade area for goods governed by a common rulebook.

The proposals sparked division within the Tory ranks, however, prompting a stream of resignations from senior Conservatives including the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, and the Brexit secretary, David Davis.

The deal was also badly received by Tory members according to polling done by ConservativeHome, which found that three in five were unhappy with the contents.

Another survey by the site revealed that Brexiteers who backed the plan, including Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, had lost support, while Boris Johnson’s popularity had surged.

After receiving the Prime Minister’s letter some Conservative members posted pictures of themselves on social media tearing it up and throwing it away.