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Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, the Spectator's Daily Politics Podcast. I'm Katie Balls,

and I'm joined by Isabel Hardman and James Forsyfe. So conservative MPs and all MPs return to the

Commons tomorrow after the long summer recess, and we were expecting one of the biggest Brexit

showdowns to date. On Tuesday, a cross-party group of MPs that are expected to try and legislate

against a no-deal Brexit. In a bid to try and stop or quell this rebellion, number 10 have suggested

that they will block and deselect any Tory MPs who rebel against the government line, as James

revealed this weekend in his son column. James, how is this message

landing amongst Conservative MPs? I think it has pushed some waivers back towards the government

position, a couple of Tory MPs message me to say, well, that's that. And I also remember that

within this group there is attention. Some of them wanted to wait until the end of September

anyway on the view that they had to try and give Boris Johnson a chance to get a deal

with the EU before they moved in to act. But the others are the more kind of radicalised ones.

It has redoubled them in their determination. And there is obviously a risk for this in the government,

for the government in this, which is once you say this to people,

once they cross that Rubicon and vote for the Commons to take control of the order paper,

they are then out.

So then why would they then back the government in a confidence vote?

In extremis, it makes it more likely that they would be prepared to back an alternative prime minister.

But what I think we see with this move is part of an attempt by number 10 to basically say, right,

...