MPs return to Commons for Brexit showdown amid reshuffle rumours
A series of bruising battles lie ahead on Brexit, amid frenzied speculation that Theresa May is planning a ministerial reshuffle.
Tuesday 5 September 2017 09:43, UK
MPs are returning to Westminster after a six-week summer break and are immediately being plunged into a series of bruising battles over Brexit.
On day one, Brexit Secretary David Davis will make a Commons statement on his and face a lengthy interrogation by MPs.
Wednesday will see Theresa May face Jeremy Corbyn in her first Prime Minister's Questions since July, in another session certain to be dominated by her Brexit strategy.
Then, on Thursday, MPs will begin a two-day debate on the second reading of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which will end with a potentially nail-biting Commons vote on the following Monday evening.
After that, in the weeks ahead, the bill will be debated line by line in a committee stage which will see potentially hundreds of amendments tabled in a bid to change Government policy.
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Mr Davis is facing MPs just two days after accusing Mr Barnier, the European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator, of looking "silly" at a frosty joint news conference last week.
The Brexit Secretary was responding to complaints by Mr Barnier about the lack of progress in the negotiations, particularly on the issue of a "divorce settlement" for the UK leaving the EU.
Ahead of Mr Davis's Commons statement, Downing Street has announced that , ditching the current "one week on three weeks off" routine and moving to continuous talks.
The Commons clashes will be the first since , when shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the party wants the UK to stay in the single market and customs union.
The first PMQs of the new term also follows Mrs May's remarks in Japan last week, when she and claimed she wants to lead the Conservatives into the 2022 general election.
It was an announcement that stunned Tory MPs and Cabinet colleagues - still reeling from June's election debacle - and even those who want her to remain leader for now have failed to endorse her pledge.
In what is likely to be an uncomfortable PMQs, the first question is due from pro-Remain Tory MP Anna Soubry, who has accused Government whips of making "macho" .
But the two-day Commons debate on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill will see an uncompromising whipping operation by the Government, which is desperate to avoid any attempts by Labour to ambush the Bill's progress.
MPs are returning to Westminster amid frenzied speculation about a ministerial reshuffle by the Prime Minister, with predictions of promotion for Tory rising stars such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer.
There is also talk that the PM, believing she is now stronger than in her post-election reshuffle, may demote or sack some Cabinet ministers. Some MPs even claim Boris Johnson could be demoted from Foreign Secretary to Tory chairman.
But Mrs May also faces the tough task of surviving next month's Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where many activists will be furious with her over her election gamble and fears that she is pursuing a "soft Brexit".