At least 40 MPs in Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party are willing to vote down her possible Brexit deal if it leaves the United Kingdom "half in and half out" of the European Union, a senior rebel lawmaker says.
"My estimate is that there are at least 40 colleagues who are not going to accept a 'half in, half out' Chequers deal or indeed a backstop that leaves us in the internal market and the customs union," Steve Baker told BBC radio.
Baker served as a junior Brexit minister in May's government until he resigned in protest at her Brexit proposals.
If May secures a deal with the EU, she has to get the British parliament to approve it and would need the backing of about 320 lawmakers to get approval.
If 40 of her lawmakers voted against a possible deal, the fate of the government and exit process would depend on the opposition Labour Party, which has indicated it will vote against almost any deal May might secure.
Under May's proposals, Britain will seek a free trade area for goods with the EU, largely by accepting a "common rulebook" for goods and British participation in EU agencies that provide authorisations for goods.
Some Brexiteers say those proposals would ensure the EU kept control over swathes of the British economy.
"In the end the EU is not entitled to split the UK and it's not entitled to constrain how we regulate our economy and govern ourselves after we leave," Baker added.
"If the UK faces either possibility then we must in the end be willing to say it's a bad deal, and no deal is better than a bad deal," Baker said. "We would need to be unafraid to go forward without an agreement."
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