THERE were rumours swirling around Westminster yesterday that Theresa May is close to dropping the dreaded amendment to the great repeal Bill that would put the Brexit date into law.

The government amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which was initially a sop to the fanatical Brexiteers on her backbenches, has provoked anger from MPs on all side of the house, including at least 21 of her own.

They say it constrains the government’s ability to get a good deal with the EU.

Given the Prime Minister’s notional working majority of 10, thanks to her deal with Northern Ireland’s DUP, it means the proposal faces almost certain defeat when it is voted on next month.

According to reports, the Prime Minister is keen to save face and drop the proposals, but in a way that doesn’t look like it’s been dropped.

And that wasn’t the only bad Brexit news for the Tory leader yesterday.

Leaked documents seem to suggest the EU aren’t interested in the sort of trade deal the British are hoping for.

An internal discussion paper, prepared by the European Commission, says British resistance to being in the single market and the customs union means all that can be offered is a deal close to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Brussels recently negotiated with Canada.

The document, leaked to the Politico website, says the UK will have to make do with a “standard [Free Trade Agreement]” unless it is willing to shift red lines regarding freedom of movement.

It also says the UK’s insistence that it will walk away from the jurisdiction of the European court of justice rulings mean it is “not compatible” as a partner within the EU framework.

In her Florence speech in September, May said that given “what exists between Britain and the EU today,” a deal like the Canadian CETA would “represent such a restriction on our mutual market access that it would benefit neither of our economies.”

One senior EU official told the Guardian newspaper that the British Cabinet was still in “cuckoo land” if it believed that Brussels would offer anything more.

No bespoke trade deal then means a hard border between Northern Irleand and the Republic of Ireland.

Even then, the possibility of trade talks being signed off by the EU27 at the summit next month is becoming more and more remote.

The EU is still waiting on further detail about Britain’s financial settlement.

Though May made clear in her Florence speech she intended to “honour commitments” the UK has made during its membership of the EU, her Brexit Minister David Davis is unwilling to offer up any figure until he knows what a future trading relationship could look like.

He says it is impossible to do one without the other.

Reports suggest EU leaders think the penny has finally dropped, and that the £20 billion already offered by May will not be enough.

May’s problem is her Cabinet.

Michael Gove, a leading and prominent Brexiteer, has been using Cabinet meetings to “audition” to be the next chancellor. The Environment Secretary believes the Remain-backing Chancellor Philip Hammond won’t last much longer in the job.

According to the Times, Gove has been making lengthy contributions to Cabinet debates on the economy.

At the most recent meeting, on Tuesday, according to two people present, Gove made a point of using “lots of long, economicky words”,

One of the sources added: “He was the only one auditioning. Others just contributed to a discussion on the industrial strategy without giving the impression of this being the culmination of lengthy rehearsals.”

The other said: “Lots of people think Hammond is a goner, but Gove shouldn’t be so blatant about it.”

Next week’s Budget will be Hammond’s last chance as Treasury chief – though several senior figures say he could be dismissed regardless of what happens.

A Brexiteer in No 11, however, would likely hamper any more money going to Brussels. Meanwhile, Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, has said there should be a second vote on Brexit.

“Here in UK, lots of hand-wringing from CEOs over #Brexit,” the New Yorker wrote on Twitter. “Reluctant to say, but many wish for a confirming vote on a decision so monumental and irreversible. So much at stake, why not make sure consensus still there?”

It was not immediately clear what he meant by a confirming vote. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Department for Exiting the European Union said there would be no second referendum.

Ever since the vote, opponents of Britain’s exit - from French President Emmanuel Macron, to former British prime minister Tony Blair and billionaire investor George Soros - have suggested Britain could change its mind and avoid what they say will be disastrous consequences for the British economy.