Theresa May will host a meeting of her Brexit ‘war cabinet’ on Thursday [Image: Christopher Furlong/PA].

The letter is signed by 62 backbench Tories – more than enough to trigger a leadership – or even a general – election if Mrs May doesn’t accept their draconian demands.

The ERG is a lobby group funded by the public via MPs’ expenses demand, in a clear breach of the Ministerial Code (in the case of those ministers who are members). This Site has reported on the issue in the past but Mrs May has dithered and done nothing about it.

What a shame – if she had only grown a backbone, she would not be in this pickle now.

Labour knows the score, as Jeremy Corbyn pointed out in Prime Minister’s Questions today (February 21):

In fact, Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition knows exactly what the ERG plan means:

It will be interesting to see how Mrs May tries to spin her decision to give in to the ERG extremists, after Thursday’s meeting.

More than 60 backbench Conservative MPs have sent Theresa May a list of hard Brexit demands ahead of a crunch meeting, triggering a furious reaction from colleagues who branded the letter a “ransom note”.

The letter was sent to May as well as the Brexit secretary, David Davis, the international trade secretary, Liam Fox, and the chief whip, Julian Smith, amid efforts to agree within cabinet what the UK will ask for in a future trading relationship.

May will lead Thursday’s meeting of her inner group of ministers, dubbed the “Brexit war cabinet”, at her country residence Chequers to hammer out what the UK will ask for in negotiations with the European commission.

But she knows she is under intense pressure from the ERG, with the 62 signatories enough to force a leadership contest if they are unhappy with the government’s progress on Brexit.

For more information, and to read the letter, visit: Tory MPs’ hard Brexit letter to May described as ransom note | Politics | The Guardian

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