Unity is the buzzword in the Conservative party this week. With a series of crunch votes due on Tuesday and Wednesday over the EU withdrawal bill, senior Tories have been at pains to tell unruly colleagues it’s time to put their differences aside and come together. Over the weekend, Amber Rudd and ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith warned that any Commons rebellions would be a win for Labour – and therefore bring Corbyn closer to entering No 10. It was a message echoed by David Lidington on the Andrew Marr show.
No 10 are increasingly confident that this new comradely spirit will prove contagious. Within government, concerns have eased over the two most troublesome votes: the customs union amendment and the meaningful vote amendment. The former is seen as the least problematic as even if Theresa May were to lose it, it’s not clear how it would tie the government’s hands.
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