May refuses to say if she would vote Leave now
‘We’re not having another referendum. March 29 2019, we come out of the European Union’
THERESA MAY has repeatedly refused to say whether she would vote for Brexit in a second EU referendum.
The Prime Minister, who backed Remain during last year’s Brexit vote, said she would “look at everything” and “come to a judgment”.
Meanwhile, Donald Tusk, the European Council president, has signalled for the first time that EU negotiators are taking a “no deal” outcome seriously, with Brexit talks being put on hold today.
Mr Tusk said that if the talks continued at a “slow pace” without sufficient progress being made, “we will have to think about where we are heading”.
Mrs May yesterday initially declined to answer the question about how she would vote, dismissing it as “hypothetical”. But after being pressed she said: “I could sit here and I could say I’d still vote Remain or I’d vote Leave, just to give you an answer. I’m being open and honest with you. What I did last time round was I looked at everything and came to a judgment and I’d do exactly the same this time round.”
She added: “But we’re not having another referendum. That’s absolutely crucial. We are going to deliver on the vote of the British people, we are going to deliver Brexit. March 29 2019, we come out of the European Union.”
The comments risk antagonising Eurosceptic Tory MPS already concerned about the UK being bound by the European Court of Justice during a transition period. It will also put pressure on other Cabinet ministers who voted Remain. Damian Green, the First Secretary of State, suggested on the BBC’S Newsnight that he would vote Remain again. Asked if he believed the country would have been better off in the EU, he said: “It would have been.” adding: “I don’t resile from my views.”
Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, snapped that “Brexit is not a game” in an ill-tempered riposte to
Theresa May’s comment that “the ball is in their court”.
Mrs May will arrive in Brussels next Thursday for a meeting of the European Council, at which she is likely to be told that insufficient progress has been made for trade talks to begin.
Negotiators had been expected to talk about the so-called Brexit “divorce bill” during this week’s round of talks, but it has emerged that after discussions on citizens’ rights and the Irish border on Monday and Tuesday no talks on money will be held today.
Asked whether the ball was in his court as he left a lunch meeting in Brussels with David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, Mr Barnier said: “Brexit is not a game. Don’t forget.”
The Chancellor Philip Hammond said the Treasury is prepared for “every outcome” including a no-deal scenario. “We will find any necessary funding and we will only spend it when it’s responsible to do so,” he wrote in The Times. He appealed for European leaders to be “more flexible and creative”.
It also emerged yesterday that Britain could join a formal trade alliance with the US, Canada and Mexico after Brexit under plans being considered by ministers. The Daily Telegraph understands that the Government is examining the possibility of joining the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as Nafta, as part of its planning for a “no deal” scenario.
Joining Nafta would enable the UK to boost its trade with three of the world’s economic powerhouses, which have a combined Gross Domestic Product of £17.2trillion, compared with the EU’S GDP of £15.7trillion.
Together, Britain, the US, Canada and Mexico account for more than 30 per cent of the entire global economy.