Sir Graham Brady, the Chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee, has claimed the Government’s Brexit negotiations with the Labour Party were likely to crumble this week. The Conservative MP noted Labour’s demands over a customs union and a confirmatory Brexit referendum as the reason the talks can no longer continue. Speaking on BBC’s This Week in Westminster, Sir Graham said he thought the talks between Mrs May and Jeremy Corbyn would “peter out” within the next few days.

He said: “I find it very hard to see how that route can lead to any sensible resolution.

“The Labour Party’s two principle asks are one, a customs union, two a second referendum.

“If the customs union is agreed without a second referendum than half the Labour Party won’t vote for whatever comes through regardless, and if a customs union is agreed then most of the Conservative Party isn’t going to support it.”

He added: ”So, I can’t see that is a very productive route to follow, and I may be wrong, but I suspect it will peter out in the next few days without having come to any significant conclusion.”

I suspect it will peter out in the next few days without having come to any significant conclusion

Sir Graham Brady

Sir Graham also commented on the demand for Mrs May to set out a road map for her departure as leader, with her Brexit deal having been rejected three times in the Commons.

He said: “I do understand the reticence about doing it.

“I don’t think it’s about an intention for staying indefinitely as Prime Minister or leader of the Conservative Party.

“I think the reticence is the concern that by promising to go on a certain timetable, it might make it less likely she would secure Parliamentary approval for the withdrawal agreement, rather than more likely.”

But, Sir Graham insisted it would be “strange” if next weeks meeting did not result in a “clear understanding” to resolve the political crisis in Westminster.

Earlier this week, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, one of the Labour figures involved in the Brexit talks with the Government, accused Tory leadership hopefuls of undermining the chances of a cross-party deal.

He said: “We will continue the dialogue into next week. Our worry is that we haven’t seen a great deal of movement from the other side. The second thing is we have had a discussion about how we can entrench any agreement for the future.

“But, every time we have had that discussion, there have been noises off from the various leadership candidates for the Conservative Party which have undermined confidence in any agreement surviving more than a couple of months until the next Conservative leadership election.”

On Thursday, Labour leader Mr Corbyn said the Government has so far failed to make a “big offer” in cross-party talks aimed at ending the Brexit deadlock, as he launched the party’s European Parliament election campaign.

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