May desperate to rescue Brexit deal
Vote tomorrow
British Prime Minister Theresa May warned lawmakers on Sunday that failing to deliver Brexit would be catastrophic for democracy, in a plea for support two days before parliament is expected to reject her deal with Brussels.
“Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy,” she wrote in the Sunday Express.
“So my message to Parliament this weekend is simple: it is time to forget the games and do what is right for our country.” May is expected to suffer a big defeat when parliament votes on Tuesday.
Brexit minister Stephen Barclay told BBC TV that persuading enough lawmakers to support the deal would be “challenging.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday warned MPS ready to reject her EU divorce deal next week that failing to deliver Brexit would be a “catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy”.
May is ighting doggedly to save her withdrawal agreement -- forged during 18 months of gruelling negotiations with European leaders -- from a crushing defeat in parliament on Tuesday.
The embattled leader said some voters in Britain’s 2016 referendum on EU membership had trusted politicians “for the irst time in decades” and lawmakers must not let them down by now scuppering Brexit.
“Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy,” May wrote in the Sunday Express newspaper.
“So my message to parliament this weekend is simple: it is time to forget the games and do what is right for our country.”
Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 29 but, with less than 11 weeks left, has yet to inalise the terms of its departure.
May’s deal agrees a 21-month transition period under current terms while the future relationship with the bloc is negotiated, but it has drawn steadfast opposition from both Brexiteers and Remainers.
The prime minister has said rejecting it will throw Britain into “uncharted territory” and put the country at risk of crashing out without an agreement, or even no Brexit at all.
The opposition Labour Party, which favours remaining in a permanent customs union with the EU, has suggested it will seek a no-conidence vote in the government if MPS throw out the plan.
The Observer newspaper reported Sunday that its lawmakers have been told it could be tabled “within hours” of that on Tuesday, with the conidence vote to be held the following day.
If the government lose a no-conidence motion, there will be a period of 14 days in which parties can seek to ind an alternative working majority in parliament.
If they fail to do so, a general election would be called.
“We will table a motion of no conidence in the government at a time of our choosing, but it’s going to be soon, don’t worry about it,” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the BBC on Sunday.
Corbyn conceded if the party won power, parliament would likely need to delay Brexit beyond March 29 so it could renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.
The prime minister already postponed a House of Commons vote on her plan in December to avoid defeat -- and MPS look set to reject it again on Tuesday.