EU, UK reach post-Brexit pact, odds still against May
LONDON : A document outlining the future political relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union was agreed in Brussels on Thursday, but odds remained stacked against Prime Minister Theresa May’s ability to push her version of Brexit through parliament.
Thursday’s document is separate from the controversial 585page agreement announced last week, which sparked resignations from May’s cabinet and mounting challenge to her leadership. Both agreements are expected to be finalised at a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Sunday.
May hailed the latest document, insisting that it respects the outcome of the 2016 referendum, but critics alleged it is merely open-ended, legally unenforceable and vague. May is due to return to Brussels on Saturday for last-minute talks before the Sunday summit. Current arithmetic in the House of Commons makes it almost impossible for May to win parliamentary approval for the two-part package deal when it is introduced after the Sunday summit. Challenge to her leadership may have cooled off for now, but the buzz is that it will be revived when she is likely to lose in parliament.
As hardline Conservative Brexiteers in the European Research Group flayed the political document, Liberal Democrats Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “This document is as aspirational as it is contradictory. In reality, it tells us nothing new…This has gone from being a fudge to a farce”.
“The declaration - in trying to please all sides - pretends that the UK will be able to have its cake and eat it, combining a ‘single customs territory’ and ‘alignment of rules’ with an independent trade policy and an end to freedom of movement. This is not the case, and MPs should not be tricked into voting for the deal on this pretence”.
However, May said in a special message outside 10, Downing Street: “This is the right deal for the UK. It delivers on the vote of the referendum. It brings back control of our borders, our money and our laws, and it does so while protecting jobs, protecting our security and protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom”.
She said the deal is within grasp, adding, “I am determined to deliver it”.