EU letter fails to turn the tide for May’s Brexit deal
Clarification note leaves UK Prime Minister again facing defeat in today’s vote
British Prime Minister Theresa May faces near-certain defeat in parliament today over the Brexit deal after a promised letter of clarification from the EU failed to impress MPs.
Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, the presidents of the European Commission and European Union respectively, wrote to Mrs May clarifying that Brussels did not want to trap Britain in a customs deal that prioritised an open Irish border.
The two said that the EU would commit to securing a new trade deal that made the Irish backstop redundant by 2021 at the latest.
But the document fell short of the renegotiation that many rebels demanded and the Democratic Unionist Party, whose support gives the ruling Conservatives a majority in the House of Commons, said it would vote against the government proposals.
“Despite a letter of supposed reassurance from the EU, there are no legally binding assurances as the Prime Minister talked about in December,” said the party’s leader, Nigel Dodds.
“In fact, there is nothing new. Instead of meaningless letters, the prime minister should now ask for and deliver changes to the withdrawal agreement.”
Before opening yesterday’s debate on the deal, Mrs May issued a stark warning to MPs who support Brexit, telling them the project was at risk if they did not vote for her deal. She later addressed factory workers in the town of Stokeon-Trent yesterday, telling them MPs were more likely to block Brexit than for the UK to quit the EU without a deal.
Mrs May is facing a parliamentary defeat on the issue, with reports of up to 100 of her own MPs voting against her deal, as well as the opposition Labour party and the DUP.
With calls growing daily for a re-run of the 2016 referendum, Mrs May said: “I ask them to consider the consequences of their actions on the faith of the British people in our democracy.
“What if we found ourselves in a situation where Parliament tried to take the UK out of the EU in opposition to a remain vote?”
The comments form part of Mrs May’s last attempts to persuade Parliament to vote for her Brexit deal today before the March 29 deadline for the UK to leave.
The vote was originally scheduled for December 11, but delayed until after Christmas as it became clear she might not get the votes needed to pass the bill. Shortly after, Mrs May survived a vote of no-confidence by her own party.
“It’s now my judgment that a more likely outcome is a paralysis in Parliament that risks no Brexit,” she said.
Liam Fox, a leading Cabinet minister, said Mrs May had secured assurances from Brussels that the Irish border arrangement was purely a stopgap to be superseded in a long-term agreement.
A junior member of the Conservatives whips office, Gareth Johnson, became the 13th member of the government to resign over the deal.
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has committed his party to vote against Mrs May’s deal and instigate a parliamentary confidence vote. A successful vote of no confidence in this case would trigger a general election.
Some of the waverers have returned to the fold, fearful that any Brexit could be derailed.
“What worries me is that if she loses by more than 100 the EU might offer her nothing and the remainers might take control,” said Sir Edward Leigh, a Brexit campaigner.
To minimise disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit, up to 4,000 civil servants in government departments have been reassigned to work on preparations for a hard exit.