MAY RUNNING SCARED
Desperate PM goes crawling back to Brussels after calling off vote on her deal
THERESA May was yesterday accused of bottling her Brexit vote after she ditched it to avoid a crushing Commons defeat.
The PM will now return to Brussels in a desperate bid to renegotiate her hated deal with the EU, which more than 100 of her MPs oppose. Tory Mark Francois said: “The Government has run away and hidden in the toilets.” But EU chiefs warned there would be no change to Mrs May’s deal.
Shameful. Government has run away and hidden in the toilets MARK FRANCOIS TORY ON MRS MAY’S SUDDEN U-TURN
Q Why did Theresa May pull the vote on her withdrawal agreement?
As the Prime Minister admitted, if she had pressed ahead with the vote she would have lost by a “significant margin”.
More than 100 Tory MPs, the DUP, the SNP and the majority of Labour MPs were prepared to vote down the deal.
By delaying the vote Mrs May buys herself some time – but at a cost.
The pound tumbled as the markets took fright at the way the Government has lost control of the Brexit process.
The PM’s personal standing and reputation for competence took yet another blow.
She has also angered ministerial colleagues and MPs by sending them out to insist the vote would go ahead minutes before it was abandoned.
Q What is she going to do now?
Mrs May admitted that the sticking point for Tory MPs was the Irish backstop – that the UK would remain in the EU’s orbit until an alternative solution to the Irish border is agreed.
She will now hold talks with EU leaders and Brussels over the next few days to see if she can seek “further assurances”. Q Will it be enough to reassure MPs? It is hard to see the EU giving ground on the backstop. As the PM herself has said “if there is no backstop there is no deal.”
The Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said it is not possible to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.
Mrs May also admitted to MPs the legal terms of agreement cannot be reopened.
The best she can hope for is to come back with stronger words from Brussels respecting British sovereignty and a restatement that neither side wants to use the backstop. This will not be legally binding so few think it will be enough to win round Tory Brexiteers or the DUP.
Q So what will happen?
The chance of a no deal Brexit has now increased. At some point the PM will have to resubmit her agreement to MPs.
Unless she wrings a significant concession from the EU she is still heading for a defeat.
Yesterday she signalled the vote would be held before January 21. But Commons officials say she could wait until March 28 – the day before we leave.
Her strategy may be to run down the clock so MPs have no choice but to accept her plan or crash out with no deal.