Brexit negotiators agree, but DUP digs its heels in
British negotiators reached agreement with officials in Brussels on Thursday that could pave the way for Britain to finally break 46 years of ties with the EU.
But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has been supporting the minority Conservative Party government, said that it still cannot support the deal.
That makes the parliamentary arithmetic a lot tighter for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who needs the backing of the House of Commons in a vote expected on Saturday to deliver an orderly Brexit on October 31.
Three DUP officials said their party will not support the deal, saying they were unhappy about customs checks in the Irish Sea, among other aspects.
Johnson has been defeated in a string of crucial parliamentary votes since taking office in July, and lost his majority in the chamber. But the prime minister announced the agreement with an upbeat statement.
Without his Northern Irish allies, Johnson needs to pick up about 61 votes from a pool of just 75 available MPs that will involve persuading hold-outs in his own party to side with him rather than the DUP. It is the final, treacherous hurdle for the UK leader to clear before he can complete his ambition of leading Britain out of the EU.
The withdrawal agreement was completed just in time for EU leaders to assess it at their meeting later on Thursday in the Belgian capital.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hailed it as “fair and balanced”.
If he pulls it off, Johnson will draw a line under three years of political turmoil since the UK voted to leave the world’s biggest trading bloc. That journey has strained its relationship with historical allies, soured the political debate at home, and tested the patience of voters.
Negotiators in Brussels and London went this week from optimism to dismay and back again, with the pound twitching at every murmur. Sterling rallied on news of the deal, touching $1.2990 before paring gains.
Now, the many predictions about the costs or benefits of Brexit may be put to the test.
At the very least, businesses and travellers may be spared the disruption that would have been triggered by Britain crashing out without a deal.
For both sides, the agreement is a chance to move their political agendas on and to start focusing on their future trading relationship.
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters in Brussels that he believes the deal can be ratified by the end of October. He called it a “fair and reasonable basis for an orderly withdrawal by the UK.
In a nod to the painful wrangling of the”past three years, he also compared getting the deal done with climbing a mountain.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a second referendum, saying in Brussels that Johnson’s deal, which he called a “sell-out”, was worse than that put forward by former prime minister Theresa May.
Most importantly, Johnson, who became the face of Brexit during the 2016 referendum campaign, needs to convince the DUP that he is not selling them out and to persuade Brexit truebelievers that this is a genuine l separation rather than a pointless fudge.
Certainly, die-hard Brexiteers are sounding as if they could hold their noses and let Johnson’s deal fly.
“The deal sounds like it could well be tolerable,” said Steve Baker, who leads that faction in parliament.
LABOUR’S CORBYN CALLS FOR SECOND REFERENDUM, SAYING DEAL IS WORSE THAN THAT OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY