His fellow hard-liner Boris Johnson was also expected to capitulate and fall in line with Theresa May today. The volte-face has boosted the Prime Minister’s chances of winning a third vote on the withdrawal agreement. Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the Eurosceptic European Research Group, said he will support the deal if the Democratic Unionist Party does, as he explains why other “outcomes are worse” and this is “a step forward”.

I apologise for changing my mind. Theresa May’s deal is a bad one

Jacob Rees-Mogg

He said: “I am now willing to support it if the Democratic Unionist Party does and by doing so will be accused of infirmity of purpose by some and treachery by others.”

The shock U-turn comes after he has been a very outspoken critic of any deal Mrs May has brought forward to the House of Commons and has been adamant that only a hard Brexit will do.

The MP for North East Somerset said that any delay in Brexit would make staying in the Brussels bloc the most likely end result and he must look at the ‘current constitutional clash and fear for our polity’.

Writing in the Daily Mail, he said: “I apologise for changing my mind. Theresa May’s deal is a bad one, it does not deliver on the promises made in the Tory Party manifesto and its negotiation was a failure of statesmanship.

“I have come to this view because the numbers in Parliament make it clear that all the other potential outcomes are worse and an awkward reality needs to be faced.”

The MP blamed the government’s late start to planning for a no deal scenario as one of the key reasons why there has been a poor outcome in the Brexit negotiations.

He said: “Once No Deal had been ruled out, it was necessary to examine what would happen in the event of the current agreement not passing.

“This would lead to a long delay as there is no opportunity of renegotiating anything before the European elections at the end of May.

“Two years or more is proposed but considering the opposition to Brexit it could be revoked or put to a skewed second referendum.”

He said that MPs thought they would be saving the UK population from themselves as the majority of the policicians believe the UK should remain in the EU.

He described it as “tragic” that MPs feel Leave voters are “all stupid” saying: “Ultimately, voters know best and must be trusted. Imperfect as it is, Mrs May’s deal gets closer to that than anything else available.”

Following suggestions Mrs May should stand down, he said that it would be harder for any Eurosceptic leader to manage MPs in the House of Commons than it is for her.

Source: Read Full Article