Deal ‘like terms imposed after military defeat’, claims Johnson
THE BREXIT deal obtained from Brussels by Theresa May is similar to the conditions that might be imposed on the defeated side in a war, Boris Johnson has said.
As Mrs May sent senior Ministers out around the country to sell her deal, Mr Johnson repeated his call for MPs to throw it out in the crucial House of Commons vote next Tuesday.
The Prime Minister was coming under growing pressure to delay the December 11 vote to give herself time to ask for more concessions from the EU at a Brussels summit at the end of next week.
With three days of the five-day debate complete, analysis showed that of 163 MPs who have spoken, just 27 have indicated they will back Mrs May’s deal compared to 122 – including 29 Tories – who will vote against.
Senior Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, yesterday said he would welcome deferring the vote to allow time to settle the question of how the UK removes itself from the socalled “backstop” arrangements for Northern Ireland. However, responding to Mr Brady’s suggestions, a spokesman for Mrs May insisted the vote would be held on Tuesday.
Writing on Facebook, Mr Johnson said that the backstop “hands the EU the indefinite power to bully and blackmail this country to get whatever it wants in the future negotiations”, because it denies the UK the power to leave without agreement from Brussels.
Predicting that France will use this advantage to “plunder” UK fishing waters, Spain will “make another push for Gibraltar” and Germany will demand concessions on migration, the former Foreign Secretary said: “It is quite incredible that any government could agree to such terms.
“They resemble the kind of diktat that might be imposed on a nation that has suffered a military defeat.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned of “real social instability” if a second referendum resulted in a victory for Remain.
“For me as someone who voted Remain, my view is we will not have social stability in this country if we end with a solution that doesn’t mean that we have parliamentary control of immigration policy,” he told
If a fresh poll reversed the 5248 majority for Leave in 2016, Leave supporters “would be incredibly angry and I wouldn’t rule out real social instability in this country”, he said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that “all options” – including a second referendum – must be on the table if Mrs May goes down to defeat next week.