How Leadsom wants the PM to change the Brexit backstop

Could we see yet more resignations including Andrea Leadsom? Credit: PA

What Andrea Leadsom wants from the Prime Minister - namely greater precision on the conditions that would have to be met for the UK to exit the backstop - does not seem unreasonable in and of itself.

And for her, and probably Penny Mourdant, and possibly Chris Grayling, Liam Fox and Michael Gove.

This is potentially a resigning issue (yes that threat has not gone away).

They want to raise this with Theresa May either in a private meeting or at Tuesday’s cabinet.

Of course it is clear why this matters to Brexiters.

Great specificity on the conditions that would see the UK emerge from the backstop would provide greater confidence that the mutual UK/EU decision to terminate the backstop would and could actually happen one day.

The Catch 22, the big problem for May, is that if those conditions could be specified there would be no need for the backstop in the first place - because there would be confidence the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could be kept open without a backstop at all.

So I fear the initiative of the Famous Five Cabinet Brexiters, with Leadsom as the leader, George, is doomed to fail.

And the PM may therefore have to brace herself for more Cabinet resignations in coming days.