Brexit: Theresa May begs Conservative MPs to ‘sacrifice’ some beliefs to avoid no deal: ‘History will judge us all’

A crash-out departure ‘would cause disruption to our economy and to people’s daily lives, damaging jobs’, letter to all Tory MPs admits

Theresa May has issued a desperate plea to Conservative MPs to “sacrifice” some of their cherished beliefs to avoid a no-deal Brexit, saying: “History will judge us all.”

In a “Dear Colleagues” letter, the prime minister admits that crashing out of the EU without an agreement would hurt “people’s daily lives” – while also warning of the risk of no Brexit if her deal is defeated.

“A failure to make the compromises necessary to reach and take through parliament a withdrawal agreement which delivers on the result of the referendum will let down the people who sent us to represent them and risk the bright future that they all deserve,” she writes.

The letter adds: “The UK might exit the EU without a deal or an implementation period. That would cause disruption to our economy and to people’s daily lives, damaging jobs both at home and across the EU.

“Instead, our party can do what it has done so often in the past: move beyond what divides us and come together behind what unites us; sacrifice if necessary our own personal preferences in the higher service of the national interest.”

However, the call for unity was hit immediately by a fresh assertion by a leading Brexiteer Tory that the prime minister’s attempted renegotiation with the EU was a “complete waste of time”.

In leaked WhatsApp messages, Steve Baker, the deputy chair of the hardline European Research Group (ERG), said Ms May was still attempting to ram her deal through with no meaningful changes.

Mr Baker pointed to the Irish backstop, the guarantee of no hard border in Ireland that anti-EU Tories fear could lock Britain into an indefinite customs union with the EU.

“What will it take for the PM to accept that we will not accept the backstop in its current form?” he told The Sunday Times.

The letter was sent after a cabinet minister gave Ms May a 10-day deadline to rescue Brexit or face a walkout to stop a no-deal Brexit.

David Gauke, the justice secretary, said the prime minister must “act responsibly” by ruling it out if she has failed to win Commons backing for her agreement by fresh votes on 27 February.

On that day, Labour’s Yvette Cooper and her Tory allies will again try to compel the prime minister to seek an extension to Article 50, by winning a vote leading to binding backbench legislation.

Ms May will hold talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, in Brussels on Wednesday and revealed plans to speak to the leaders of every EU member state over the coming days.

In a speech on Tuesday, attorney general Geoffrey Cox will set out what changes are required to eliminate the legal risk of being trapped in the backstop indefinitely.

In her appeal, the prime minister says she had sought to “steer a course that can unite all pragmatic points of view behind a clear and coherent policy” which honours the referendum and leaves the EU with a negotiated deal.

“History will judge us all for the parts we have played in this process. I believe that a country with our innate strengths, enviable resources and enormous talent can face the future with confidence that our best days lie ahead. But we stand now at a crucial moment,” the letter says.