Dominic Raab has quit as Brexit Secretary, and dealt a fatal blow to any hope that Theresa May’s Brexit deal will pass the House of Commons and very probably to May’s premiership as well.
Raab’s resignation changes the calculation as far as other cabinet ministers are concerned. It confirms what we already knew, which is that there are far too many Conservative MPs who are committed to voting against this deal for it to pass even with a substantial Labour rebellion. If you are Penny Mordaunt, playing a blinder as far as the leadership race is concerned at Dfid, why stay? If you are Esther McVey, why pass up the one opportunity for the word “resigns” to appear next to your name without the words “in disgrace” next to them? And doubtless many junior ministers will decide that their own futures are better served by quitting.
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