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  Courtesy of the Times.
  
  Theresa May faces the worst rebellion of her leadership today as cabinet Brexiteers attempt to force her to push for a harder exit from the European Union than she is planning. Last night seven cabinet Brexiteers held closed talks at the Foreign Office to discuss their strategy before today’s meeting at Chequers, at which Mrs May hoped to persuade the whole cabinet to sign off on her Brexit plans.
  One option could be to formally say they are rejecting the paper put forward by the prime minister and confront her with an alternative for a harder exit based on the deal that Brussels has negotiated with Canada.
  
  Hardline Leave supporters were horrified to find out this week that Mrs May was preparing to water down her original proposals and in effect keep Britain in parts of the single market. According to a proposal leaked to The Times, the prime minister wants to buy off Brexiteers by reasserting her commitment to end free movement. She will concede that this means that Britain will no longer be in the single market for services, which accounts for 80 per cent of the economy.
  
  Mrs May will not spell out how she intends to replace free movement, however, in a move causing suspicions among her critics that she may effectively go back on her word in the autumn. A separate government document leaked to The Spectator conceded that Mrs May’s plan would prevent the UK from striking a comprehensive free-trade deal with the United States. Until now Downing Street has maintained the illusion that Britain can sign significant trade deals while also maintaining full access to EU markets. Mrs May’s plan would enable regulatory alignment with Europe — avoiding a hard border with Ireland — and also a trade deal with the US.

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