Rejection would mean ‘back to square one’
LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May warned yesterday Britain would be thrust into the unknown if Parliament rejects the Brexit deal she has negotiated with the European Union, as lawmakers from all sides lined up to criticise the agreement.
Under the deal secured with EU leaders on Monday, Britain will leave the bloc in March with continued close trade ties, but the odds now look stacked against May getting it approved by a divided British Parliament.
As she tried to win over her critics, lawmakers from both her own Conservatives and opposition parties attacked the deal, warning that Parliament would not support it, and urging her to set out an alternative plan.
‘‘There is not a better deal available,’’
May told the House of Commons.
‘‘We can back this deal, deliver on the vote of the referendum and move on to building a brighter future . . . or this House can choose to reject this deal and go back to square one.
‘‘Noone knows what would happen if this deal doesn’t pass. It would open the door to more division and more uncertainty, with all the risks that will entail.’’
Parliament will vote on the deal on December 11 after five days of debate, May’s office said.
May has warned lawmakers that if they reject it, Britain could face leaving the EU without a deal, something businesses say would hurt the economy.
The EU has also been clear there is very little appetite to reopen the Brexit negotiations if Parliament votes it down.
‘‘This will never get through . . . it is as dead as a dodo,’’ Conservative lawmaker Mark Francois said, adding he agreed with The Sun newspaper’s verdict the deal was ‘‘a surrender’’.
‘‘Prime Minister I plead with you, the House of Commons has never ever surrendered to anybody and it won’t start now.’’
A May will travel to Northern Ireland and Wales today as part of a tour of the United Kingdom designed to rally support for the deal before the vote in Parliament.
The tour includes meetings with political leaders from all parties in Northern Ireland, which will have Britain’s only land border with the European Union and whose future has been a stumbling block in the negotiations.
On the Welsh leg of the visit she will meet political leaders and farmers. — Reuters