BETTER DEAL OR NO DEAL
Let’s keep it simple: For the 17.4m who voted Brexit, the EU faces a stark choice...
THERESA May will today embark on a desperate whistlestop diplomatic tour to wring an improved Brexit deal out of the EU.
The Prime Minister is expected to fly to Berlin to warn German chancellor Angela Merkel that the bloc is on the brink of a crisis with the UK edging towards a nodeal departure.
She is also set to meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Council president Donald Tusk, Dutch premier Mark Rutte and other EU leaders, before a showdown at a Brussels summit on Thursday.
Her high-stakes demand for fresh concessions comes after she stunned MPs yesterday by postponing today’s crunch Commons vote on her Brexit deal
in the face of mass opposition. Triggering a furious Commons backlash, the Prime Minister pulled the plug on the division after a string of Cabinet ministers told her she faced a massive defeat.
Officials refused to say when the vote will take place.
Angry Tory Eurosceptics attacked her leadership while Labour backbenchers were pressing for a vote of no confidence in the Government.
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson was quiet during Mrs May’s crucial Brexit statement – and was even seen yawning on the back benches.
But he later tweeted: “We are told that the EU does not even like the backstop.
“Well, if the EU doesn’t like it, and the UK Government doesn’t like it, and the British people don’t like it, why on earth is it there?
“Let us get rid of it and move on.”
Mrs May was facing some brutal wrangling after sources signalled Brussels was ready to play hardball to her concessions demand.
But Mr Tusk hinted at extra assurances to help win over MPs.
He said: “We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification. As time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario.”
Irish premier Leo Varadkar was also resisting changes to the socalled backstop mechanism to prevent a “hard” border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
He said the Withdrawal Agreement, including the backstop, was “the only agreement on the table”.
Downing Street said Mrs May will press EU leaders for fresh assurances to allay MPs’ backstop fears.
“She is going to be talking to fellow leaders so you can expect some travel,” her spokesman said.
He also promised the EU’s Article 50 departure process will not be extended beyond the scheduled March 29, 2019 departure day.
Explaining the delayed vote, he said: “I don’t think there was anything to be gained from suffering a significant defeat in the House of Commons before going back for talks with European leaders.”
In a statement to MPs yesterday, Mrs May said: “I have listened. I have heard those concerns and I will now do everything I possibly can to secure further assurances.”
Her climbdown follows days of Cabinet pressure to avoid the showdown, after fears that well over 100 Tory MPs would rebel.
She finally took the decision during a conference involving almost all Cabinet ministers at noon. It left some ministers red-faced – that morning, Environment Secretary Michael Gove promised the vote would go ahead.
Mrs May’s decision triggered furious Westminster scenes.
Former Tory minister Mark Francois said: “What the Government have done today is shameful. It is a complete abuse of this House.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the backbench European Research Group of MPs, said: “This is not governing, it risks putting Jeremy Corbyn into government by failing to deliver Brexit. We cannot continue like this. The Prime Minister must either govern or quit.
“I think that this is a rotten day for the Government. And it is a humiliating day.”
Ex-Brexit minister Steve Baker said: “This is essentially a defeat of the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal. This isn’t the mark of a stable government or a strong plan.”
Mrs May told the Commons: “I have listened very carefully to what has been said, in this chamber and out of it, by members from all sides.
“It is clear that while there is broad support for many of the key aspects of the deal, on one issue – the Northern Ireland backstop – there remains widespread and deep concern. As a result, if we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow, the deal would be rejected by a significant margin.”
Mrs May made clear last night she will not delay Britain’s exit from the EU, despite the European Court of Justice ruling that the Government could stop Brexit without permission from Brussels.
She told MPs: “Revoking Article 50 would mean going back on the result of the referendum and staying in the European Union.”