ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Cabinet ministers opposing a hard Brexit sidelined Theresa May today by reaching out to Labour MPs and European leaders who share their fears over jobs and stability.

“This is no longer a question just for Government,” a senior minister told the Standard. “It is clear to me that Parliament will want to assert its role in a way it did not before.”

The Prime Minister’s grip on Brexit was vanishing as the two sides manoeuvred for power in the Cabinet and the Conservative Party.

In a flare-up of the Tory civil war over Europe, ministers who want a deal to protect the economy have derided as “Creationists” those ministers such as Liam Fox, Priti Patel and Chris Grayling who would be willing to quit the EU without an arrangement.

They say the “sensibles” are Damian Green, effectively deputy prime minister after yesterday’s Cabinet changes, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader.

Today, it emerged that the Queen’s Speech may have to be delayed after last week’s election result. Downing Street refused to rule out the possibility this morning.

The State Opening of Parliament, which includes a list of planned laws, is scheduled to take place on June 19, the same day as Brexit talks were due to open.

No 10 said there would be an “update” from new Commons leader Andrea Leadsom later.

The statement led to speculation that Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party was haggling over the contents of the speech in return for supporting the Tories.

Earlier, Brexit Secretary David Davis had signalled that discussions about the UK’s exit from the EU might not start on June 19 due to the clash with the Queen’s Speech.

He hinted that there could be compromises over the Great Repeal Bill and human rights, but said leaving the single market and customs union were “fundamentals”.

“If people can think of elements that are better and negotiable, I am listening,” he added. He also admitted that parts of the Tory manifesto would be “pruned” following the loss of the party’s Commons majority.

Mr Hammond is making the annual Mansion House speech on Thursday, which some soft-Brexiteers hope will clarify the approach.

“It will be interesting to see what he has to say about this,” said a senior Tory. Ministers are also appealing to EU leaders and Brussels officials to seize the botched election as a chance to change the terms of Brexit.

“If the Commission could be persuaded not to gloat and instead see this as an opportunity to reset relations with the UK, that would be helpful,” said a senior source. “If they jeer and say ‘Britain is weakened’ it hardens attitudes here.”

Tory Right-wingers intend to assert themselves this evening when Mrs May addresses a private meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers.

Several made clear in advance that their support depends on delivering the manifesto commitment to quit the European single market, which business leaders say would be disastrous for trade.

Today, Labour Centrists said they would be willing to put the crisis above divisions by co-operating for a softer Brexit, which could include membership of the single market or the customs union.

In the Standard, ex-Labour transport secretary Lord Adonis called for an early vote for staying in the customs union, the zone free of trade barriers.

Chuka Umunna, the former shadow business secretary, said Mrs May would have to compromise to get a Northern Ireland border deal to keep the DUP onside and avoid an early election. “She is going to need cross-party support beyond the DUP,” he said.

The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, told supporters another election could be forced. But shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner appeared to soften Labour’s manifesto commitment to leave the single market, telling Radio 4: “It’s an open question as to what we can get.”

A Tory minister said Labour MPs needed to decide whether they wanted to topple the government or get a Brexit deal in the national interest. “Before the election there were several who said a good Brexit deal was the most important thing,” they added.

Mr Davis denied that Mrs May had been “sobbing” before she saw the Queen on Friday. “Not when I saw her,” he said. He attacked talk of a leadership challenge being mounted by Boris Johnson against Mrs May as “unbelievably self-indulgent”.

The Foreign Secretary rejected reports that he considered standing — but a minister told the Standard that he had hosted “gatherings” over the weekend attended by supporters.

MPs suspect Mrs May’s plans for new grammar schools, to strip winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners, and the so-called dementia tax will have to be scrapped.

Mr Davis told Radio 4 today: “Some elements of the manifesto will be pruned away.”

The chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, predicted MPs would rally around Mrs May. He said: “The job is try to provide the most steady government we can.”

Mrs May’s hopes of survival hinge on a deal with the DUP, which opposes gay rights. Its leader Arlene Foster has said she will use her influence to secure “outcomes that are beneficial for all”.

Ministers fear that EU leaders have lost interest in Britain’s predicament because of the drama in France. President Macron is on course to win a huge victory after the first round of parliamentary elections.