Brexit plot backf ires and could lead to harder deal
A PLOT by Tory MPs to water down Brexit backfired yesterday as the European Union warned Britain would have a harder exit if MPs vote down a deal.
Eleven rebels backed an amendment on Wednesday that gives Parliament the power to send the Prime Minister back to the negotiating table if the Commons rejects the final agreement.
Some MPs believe this would allow them to order the Government to return to Brussels to seek a softer Brexit, with – for example – continued membership of the single market and customs union.
But at a summit yesterday, EU leaders said there would be no prospect of reopening talks if that happens, meaning the country would simply leave the bloc without a deal.
Theresa May shrugged off the rebels’ victory yesterday, saying she was still ‘on course to deliver Brexit’ as she arrived for the European Council meeting in Brussels. She said: ‘I am disappointed with the amendment but actually the EU Withdrawal Bill is making good progress through the House of Commons.
‘Just look at the passage of the EU Withdrawal Bill so far – we’ve actually had 36 votes on the bill and we have won 35 of those with an average majority of 22. So the bill is making good progress.’
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Brexit was ‘unstoppable’. He added: ‘It’s going to go on and we will get it done in a very successful and a very timely way.
‘I can’t believe for the life of me that Parliament will actually vote to stop or reverse the Brexit process or frustrate the will of the British people. That’s just not going to happen.’
EU leaders lined up to praise Mrs May, as they rejected the significance of the rebel amendment and prepared to give the green light to moving on to trade talks at a meeting this morning.
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said: ‘She has a formidable stature here and last week showed all of us that we should not underestimate Theresa May, she’s a formidable politician.’
Xavier Bettel, the prime minister of Luxembourg, said it would not be possible for the PM to negotiate another Brexit deal should it be rejected by Parliament.
Over dinner last night, Mrs May told EU leaders she was ‘personally committed to ensuring the UK continues as a close friend and ally after our withdrawal’. She said: ‘I make no secret of wanting to move on to the next phase of negotiations and to approaching it with ambition and creativity.
‘I believe this is in the best interests of the UK and the European Union.’
EU leaders are expected to agree this morning that trade talks should begin in March, but Mrs May argued they should start ‘as soon as possible’. She also announced the UK would remain in the EU university student exchange programme, Erasmus, until at least the end of 2020.
European Council president Donald Tusk yesterday warned EU countries that they would face unprecedented pressure in the next round of talks and that splits could emerge.
He described Brexit as one of the bloc’s ‘most difficult’ challenges as he said the first phase of talks would end tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar took aim at Leave voters as he claimed he was trying to fix the ‘problem’ they created. He said: ‘I would hope that some of the people who supported Brexit and campaigned for that would realise they’re the ones who created this problem. I’m one of the people who is trying to resolve it.’