But the source said May has vociferously opposed the idea of another public vote whenever it has been raised, because she believes it is her duty to fulfil the result of the 2016 referendum and cannot risk Brexit being reversed. “It is the only time she loses her temper and raises her voice,” they said. Downing Street declined to comment on private conversations.

The other option being discussed by May’s allies is softening the deal so she could win the backing of Conservative Remainers and Labour MPs in a second vote. Several cabinet ministers are pushing for a Norway-style plan B, with the UK remaining inside the single market.

It has previously been assumed that May would never countenance a Norway-style deal because it would mean continuing freedom of movement, which has been seen as a red line she will not cross. One of May’s closest aides told BuzzFeed News earlier this year that both he and the PM would resign rather than accept free movement.

But May’s doubts about a second referendum have led colleagues to believe she could seek a softer Brexit rather than risk no Brexit at all, even though she believes it would be a worse outcome than her deal. “As bad as EEA is, at least it’s leaving,” said a Whitehall source, referring to membership of the European Economic Area.

May has previously publicly ruled out both a Norway-style Brexit and a second referendum, and the catch-22 scenario has led both Leave and Remain Tories to conclude the PM has run out of road.

A Remain-voting cabinet minister is planning for an imminent leadership contest and has made offers of jobs to both prominent Remainers and Brexiteers.



If May loses Tuesday’s vote by a significant margin, Tory MPs on both the Leave and Remain sides expect her to either resign or face a leadership challenge.

Tory Leavers told BuzzFeed News that if she lost by a small margin, they would demand she goes back to Brussels and attempt to renegotiate the backstop arrangement. They said she would be ousted if she attempted to hold a second referendum or soften the deal.

A former cabinet minister said: “Theresa and this government had one job: to deliver the will of the people by delivering Brexit. If they fail to deliver on that, it’s not just game over for Theresa, it’s game over for the Tories. She either has to go back to Brussels and say no to the backstop or it’s no deal. Or, if she’s unwilling to do that, we need someone that will. Anything less, and the Tory party is finished.”

A second former minister said: “I’m not sure she can or should stay on after she loses the meaningful vote. She’s lost all power and all control. For two years she hasn’t listened to her party and so now they no longer listen to her. The fundamental problem is no one trusts her. If she stays, she continues to split the party.”

The view in cabinet is that, if May’s deal is rejected but she does stay on, a second referendum and a softer Brexit are her only two realistic options. Ministers have concluded that any attempt by May to renegotiate the backstop would fail, that a no-deal Brexit would cause mass cabinet resignations and be blocked by parliament, and that Tory MPs would prevent her from calling a general election.

Both a second referendum and a softer Brexit are looked upon grimly by May’s aides, who now fear they won’t be able to deliver on their promises to voters. “It has come to the point where you feel like you are in that Mitchell and Webb sketch when one of the Nazis looks at the other and asks, ‘Are we the baddies?’” said a Number 10 aide.