HEAVEN HELP HER! NOW TRUMP SLAMS MAY’S BREXIT DEAL
DONALD Trump last night raised fears that Theresa May’s Brexit agreement may stop the US from striking trade deals with Britain.
The President said: “It sounds like a great deal for the EU. I think we have to take a look at, seriously, whether or not the UK is allowed to trade.
“Right now, if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us. I don’t think they meant that,” he said.
The news was a further blow to the Prime Minister on a day her Brussels deal came under attack from all sides in the Commons.
Reporting back to Parliament after the weekend’s EU summit, Mrs May predicted that the country would face “more division and more uncertainty” unless the Commons backs the agreement in a vote on December 11.
But she was given a further warning of the depth of opposition to the package endorsed by European leaders in Brussels.
Democratic
A string of former Cabinet ministers including Boris Johnson, David Davis and Sir Michael Fallon savaged the deal and promised to vote against it during a two-and-ahalf hour question-and-answer session. Making her case to MPs, the Prime Minister said: “This is the right deal for Britain because it delivers on the democratic decision of the British people.
She added: “I can say to the House with absolute certainty that there is not a better deal available.
“We can back this deal, deliver on the vote of the referendum and move on to building a brighter future of opportunity and prosperity for all our people.
“Or this House can choose to reject this deal and go back to square one.”
Several MPs warned the Prime Minister that the Commons was almost certain to vote down her Brexit deal.
Mr Johnson said: “It’s very hard to see how this deal can provide certainty to business, or anyone else, when you have half the Cabinet going around reassuring business that the UK is effectively going to remain in the customs union and in the single market, and the Prime Minister herself continuing to say that we are going to take back control of our laws, vary our tariffs and do real free trade deals. They can’t both be right.”
Mr Davis, the former EU exit secretary asked: “If the EU really intends, in good faith, to rapidly negotiate a future trade agreement, why can we not make the second half of the £39billion conditional on delivering it?”
Tory former defence secretary Sir Michael suggested the deal was “a huge gamble”. He said: “Is it really wise to trust the future of our economy to a pledge simply to use best endeavours?”
Jeremy Corbyn warned Mrs May not to “plough on” with her deal given the lack of support.
“The Prime Minister says if we reject this deal it will take us back to square one,” said the Labour leader. “The truth is, under this government we’ve never got beyond square one.”
Mrs May had to wait for over an hour before any MP voiced support for her deal. Tory former education secretary Nicky Morgan said: “It’s the easiest thing in the world for people to criticise any deal that they haven’t spent time negotiating.
“Actually, the braver thing, and the right thing for this country now, is to challenge ourselves on our views on Brexit – to step up to the plate as elected representatives and to give this deal the scrutiny that it needs, to read carefully the economic forecast the Government is going to publish, and to realise that what will cost us far more than £39billion is a no-deal Brexit which needs to be avoided.”
During the exchanges, the Prime Minister insisted: “I’m looking ahead to December 11th, when this House will be faced with a decision as to whether or not it wishes to deliver on the vote of the British people with a deal that not only delivers on that vote, but also protects their jobs.”
Mrs May told MPs that the UK Government had ensured that Gibraltar was covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and would negotiate a future relationship “for the whole UK family, including Gibraltar”.
Fishermen
And, in a riposte to French president Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that the EU could delay trade talks unless its fishermen were granted access to UK waters, the PM said: “The EU have maintained throughout this process that they wanted to link overall access to markets to access to fisheries.
“They failed in the Withdrawal Agreement, and they failed again in the Political Declaration.
“It is no surprise some are already trying to lay down markers again for the future relationship, but they should be getting used to the answer by now: it is not going to happen.”
In response to Mr Trump’s comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: “The political declaration we have agreed with the EU is very clear we will have an independent trade policy so that the UK can sign trade deals with countries around the world – including with the US.”