In London, Eurosceptic
MPs seem as resolute
as ever to vote against the
prime minister's compromise
Brexit deal on Tuesday.
But outside the
Westminster bubble,
the prime minister is facing
another kind of headache,
a YouGov poll recently
found that over half
of grassroots Tory members
back a no-deal Brexit
over the prime minister's deal.
Crushing news for the PM who
had hoped local activists
would persuade their MPs
to back her Brexit deal
over the Christmas holidays.
Instead, pro-Leave
members are only
hardening their stance on
Brexit and their condemnation
of the negotiations.
In Rochester and
Strood, voters were
clear what they wanted when
it came to the EU referendum
in 2016, 64 per cent
percent of voters
backed Leave while
local businesses are
keen for a deal to be passed.
In Rochester, there are
plenty of local Tory party
members who still believe a
no-deal Brexit is the best
option.
Well, firstly I'm not
in favour of no-deal.
It's much better to have a deal.
But any deal that
has been constructed
that has any sort of
backstop arrangement
which binds us in ad
infinitum until the other 27
countries agree to let
us go is not the Brexit
that I voted for.
I don't know anybody who is a
Brexiteer that likes this deal
and would support this deal.
So do you support
MPs who are taking
the unusual move
of being disloyal
and voting down
their prime minister?
I don't think that's disloyalty.
I think they're being
loyal to the great majority
of British people
that voted to leave.
Local Tory members who
agreed to speak to us
were largely Eurosceptic men.
Few who supported the
PM were willing to talk.
But we found one
local member who
wants to see Conservative MPs
get behind Mrs May's deal.
Philip Ruby, the chairman of
Rochester West Conservative
Association, says MPs
have a democratic duty
to represent the interests
of all their constituents,
not just older
Eurosceptic party members.
Parts of this constituency
voted to leave, parts didn't.
And there's an awful lot of
Labour people who didn't vote
for her.
But they need representing.
And they, and when you're
a member of parliament,
you represent all of them.
And you go there
and we expect you
to exercise your own judgement.
Now it's the turn of moderate
One Nation Tory MPs to say:
this is the best deal we've got.
MPs in the local area are
split over how they will
vote on Theresa May's deal.
Kelly Tolhurst, who's been the
MP for Rochester and Strood
since 2015 when she won
the seat back from Ukip,
is a government minister
who will vote for the deal
under the principle of
collective responsibility.
Her neighbouring
MP Tracey Crouch
has vowed to vote
it down, a move
which has gone down well with
local members we spoke to.
Andrew Mackness lives in
the dockyards of Chatham
and is the former chairman of
the local Rochester and Strood
Conservative Association.
He worked on Ms
Tolhurst's campaign
and today is calling
on her to rebel
against her own government.
She clearly now
is on the payroll
and very loyal to the prime
minister and the government.
But I don't think that
reflects at all what
the people of Rochester
and Strood want.
So you support MPs
who are seemingly
being disloyal and
saying that they're
going to vote against the deal?
I do.
I think this is one that,
it should be a free vote.
It was a free vote, the
referendum for the nation.
This should not be
party political.
It's too an important deal.
I think the Labour party is in
a complete mess around what it
should do around Brexit.
But equally I think
the Conservative party
is in not much better picture.
What specifically is it for you
that's wrong with the PMs deal?
Brexit was about taking
back control of our borders.
It was equally about being
given the opportunity
to commercially
trade internationally
without boundaries but
leaving without a big slap
on our backside and a
payment that we have to make
to get out of this club.
And really what's
on the table, there
are far too many compromises.
Andrew is not alone
in his scepticism.
Rupert Turpin, who's involved
with his local association
here in Rochester, says he's
so unhappy with the PMs deal
he'd rather stay in the EU than
have it passed in the Commons.
We met outside the area's
historic Rochester Castle.
I just think it's such a bad
deal that we are literally
going to be taking
rule-taker from Europe
without a seat at the table.
It will just make a
mockery of our thousand
years of democracy.
We're the world's
oldest democracy.
I've not met anyone that
says it's a good deal.
Yeah.
And you are at the
stage that you'd almost
rather stay in the EU than
go along with the PMs deal?
I would rather do that.
Because then we could
leave at a later stage.
I think we would be coming
out at some stage anyway.
Because there's
a lot of tensions
within Europe with the Euro
and various other things.
So it will come to a
point at a later stage.
But I don't want to see us
as a vassal state in the EU.
As the vote approaches, MPs
have a decision to make.
Should they listen to
their local members
or make up their own minds?
