What are the arguments for and against May’s Brexit deal?

Theresa May seems to have finally found a way to unite Remainers and Leavers – unfortunately for her it is in opposition to her Brexit deal. Andrew Woodcock and David Williamson look at why the deal is so unpopular...

THERESA May and her supporters say the Withdrawal Agreement, coupled with the Political Declaration on future UK/EU relations, will:

■ Deliver on the result of the 2016 referendum by taking the UK out of the European Union;

■ End the right of free movement by EU citizens to live and work in the UK, allowing Britain to introduce a new skills-based immigration system;

■ End the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK;

■ Stop the annual payment of “vast” sums into EU budgets;

■ Take the UK out of the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy;

■ Pave the way for the creation of a new UK/EU free trade area with no tariffs, fees, charges, quantitative restrictions or rules-of-origin checks;

■ Preserve close relations with the EU on security, crime and terrorism;

■ Protect the integrity of the UK by ensuring there is no customs barrier between Northern Ireland and Great Britain;

■ Honour the Good Friday Agreement by ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic;

■ End uncertainty about the future and reassure business that there will be no abrupt “cliff-edge” transition to new trading arrangements by providing a 21-month transition period for them to prepare;

■ Allow the extension of the period by up to two years to allow a trade deal to be completed, without the need to trigger “backstop” arrangements to keep the Irish border open;

■ Allow the UK to negotiate trade deals with countries elsewhere in the world, to come into effect at the end of the transition period; and

■ Protect the rights of UK citizens living in the EU and Europeans in Britain. from a variety of angles. Pro-Brexit critics of say it will:

■ Trap the UK in a customs union which Britain can only escape with the consent of the EU;

■ Prevent new trade deals with countries like the US, China or Australia from coming into effect until at least 2021 – or 2023 if the transition period is extended, or even later if the backstop is then invoked;

■ Allow the European Court of Justice continued influence over the UK, as the final arbiter for the interpretation of EU law in disputes;

■ Require the UK to hand over £39bn in “divorce” payments with no guarantee of a free trade deal in the future;

■ Force the UK to accept Brussels rules and regulations until the end of the transition period, without having any say in them;

■ Commit the UK to aligning with EU standards and rules in the long term;

■ Leave open the possibility of access to fish in UK waters for European vessels; and

■ Give Spain a role in deciding future arrangements for Gibraltar.

■ Cost the UK billions of pounds a year in lost trade and additional bureaucracy;

■ Give up the power and influence the UK enjoys as a leading member of the EU in return for vague promises about future trade;

■ Undermine the fight against crime and terrorism by weakening Europe-wide co-operation;

■ Put environmental, food and safety standards at risk;

■ Subject the UK to the rulings of an unelected arbitration panel; and

■ Plunge the country into years of uncertainty and negotiation, discouraging investment.

■ Leave Britain worse off economically and offer no say on future EU rules and no certainty about future relations;

■ Fail to meet their demand for customs union membership and a single market deal to protect jobs and industry;

■ Offer insufficient support for manufacturing and industry and fail to maintain workplace protections;

■ Leave the UK open to substantial additional payments if the transition is extended; and

■ Put the UK in a position of weakness in negotiating a trade deal.

■ Lead to fewer jobs, lower wages and worse opportunities;

■ Result in an unacceptable ‘blind Brexit’, where key decisions are made outside the EU; and

■ Leave the country with no way forward so the “only legitimate option” is a referendum with an option to stay in the EU.

■ Fails to provide clear guarantees about a future relationship with the EU27 that would protect the interests of Wales and the UK as a whole;

■ Fails, in the accompanying political statement which will serve as a foundation for a future long-term deal with the EU, to “protect or reflect the interests of Wales and the rest of the UK”; and

■ Will “fall far short of providing the stability and certainty needed for the long term”.

■ Undermine the Union by treating Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK; and

■ Leave open the possibility of a regulatory border down the Irish Sea.

■ Take Scotland out of the EU, the customs union and single market against the will of its voters;

■ Make it more difficult for Scotland to attract the migrant workers it needs for its public services; and

■ Give Northern Irish fishermen and exporters advantages denied to their Scottish counterparts.

> Anti-Brexit campaigners with Union and European Union flags outside the House of Commons this week