May faces ‘moment of truth’ over Brexit
Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a major backlash that could threaten her premiership after finally unveiling her Brexit deal to her cabinet.
Senior ministers were being called to Downing Street one by one to be briefed on the deal ahead of an emergency cabinet meeting overnight.
The European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs was putting leave-supporting ministers under intense pressure to resign over the plan, with multiple cabinet ministers thought to be considering their positions.
Leaders of all four opposition parties wrote a joint letter to May demanding a ‘‘truly meaningful vote’’ on the deal.
Former Brexit secretary David Davis said: ‘‘This is the moment of truth. This is the fork in the road.’’
Last night, although Downing Street expressed optimism, it remained unclear how the plan had any chance of passing through Parliament.
Following 18 months of fraught negotiations, May yesterday confirmed that she had reached a final deal with Brussels.
The deal will involve a two-year transition until 2021, followed by a highly contentious all-UK customs union ‘‘backstop’’ in the event that the Irish border issue cannot be resolved. It is understood that further protections tying Northern Ireland close to the European Union are also contained in the document.
It is understood that under the deal, the European Court of Justice will have a significant role in deciding when the backstop will end – a red line for Eurosceptic cabinet ministers.
Other potential flashpoints include fishing rights, state aid, and alignment with European social and environmental regulations.
The 500-page deal is accompanied by a five-page ‘‘political declaration’’, which is being closely studied by ministers amid concerns it will be too vague to establish a future relationship.
Tory Eurosceptics were infuriated by the deal, with Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, suggesting that May’s ‘‘days are numbered’’. Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party said it was prepared to vote against the deal amid concerns that the customs backstop was a ‘‘trap’’ that would effectively annexe Northern Ireland to the EU.
May was expected to appeal to her ministers to put the national interest first and back her deal, even if they find parts of it difficult to accept.
However, Eurosceptic ministers have raised repeated concerns about the customs backstop, which will keep Britain in a temporary customs union with the EU in the event that a solution to the Irish border issue cannot be found.
They say Britain should have a unilateral ability to break off from the arrangement, without which they believe the UK could be trapped in a customs union with the EU.
– Telegraph Group