Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MY DEAL, NO DEAL ... OR NO BREXIT
May’s ultimatum amid DUP warning
EMBATTLED Theresa May squared up to opponents of her Brexit deal in a make-orbreak showdown.
She warned them they could back her, or face a no-deal exit, or even no Brexit. DUP leader Arlene Foster also met with Mrs May last night amid the fallout. Mrs Foster said: “We could not as unionists support a deal that broke up the UK.”
The EU’S Michel Barnier hailed the draft and stated there would be no hard border under the proposals.
THERESA May sensationally warned MPS last night to back her deal for quitting the EU or risk “no Brexit at all”.
In an ultimatum outside No10, minutes after her warring Cabinet reluctantly agreed on her plan, the Prime Minister insisted it was “the best that could be negotiated”.
And she warned MPS that if they failed to vote for it in Parliament, the UK could crash out without a deal or even not depart at all.
She said: “The choice before us is clear – this deal, which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our Union – or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all.”
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier hailed the draft agreement as a “decisive crucial step in concluding these negotiations”.
He said if there was no final agreement on Northern Ireland at the end of the transition, in December 2020, there would be a “EU-UK single customs territory” and no hard border.
Mr Barnier added: “Northern Ireland will therefore remain in this same customs territory as the rest of the UK.”
However, DUP leader Arlene Foster warned: “We could not as unionists support a deal that broke up the United Kingdom.”
Last night she tweeted: “We had a frank meeting tonight with the Prime Minister lasting almost an hour. She is fully aware of our position and concerns.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said last night “decisive progress has been made” in relation to the draft withdrawal agreement.
He added: “Our approach is not meant to be a threat to you or to your integrity.
“Avoiding a hard border has proven to be one of the most difficult challenges.
“What has become known as the backstop is now fully spelt out in the Withdrawal Agreement. The backstop would apply unless and until a better solution is agreed.”
But Mrs May was last night warned she could be ousted from No10 “imminently” amid a growing Tory backbench rebellion.
The PM narrowly won the support of her Cabinet to stick with her plan last night after a brutal fivehour showdown. She faced a rebel- lion from a third of her Cabinet, with 11 out of 29 ministers railing against it.
She eventually emerged at 7.20pm, visibly drained from the bruising battle but still clinging to the keys of Downing Street.
The PM announced her Cabinet had finally signed off on her deal.
But her two-year premiership appeared to be in danger as Brexiteer Tories quickly launched a fresh plot to dump her as leader.
Mrs May hailed the “collective” decision of her top team, saying: “This is a decisive step which enables us to move on and finalise the deal in the days ahead. These decisions were not taken lightly, but I believe it is a decision that is firmly in the national interest. I firmly believe, with my head and my heart, that this is a decision which is in the best interests of the United Kingdom.”
However, the PM admitted there were still “difficult days ahead”.
There will be a special Brexit summit in Brussels at the end of this month for EU leaders to approve the deal.
That will be followed by a crucial Commons vote, in which MPS will hold Britain’s future in their hands.
Senior MPS from the European Research Group, chaired by Brexiteer Tory MP Jacob Rees-mogg, last night began submitting letters calling for a vote of no confidence. Mr Rees Mogg simultaneously wrote to every Tory MP urging them to vote against the deal.
That vote is expected to be scheduled for next month.
Meanwhile, for a vote of no confidence to be triggered, 48 letters from Tory MPS –15 % of the parliamentary party – must submit letters to 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady. The total sent before yesterday was already rumoured to be as high as 40.
One Brexiteer Tory MP last night said the tally was “tantalisingly close” to the amount needed to start a leadership battle. And former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who led the Leave campaign, said: “Any Cabinet member who is a genuine Brexiteer must now resign or never be trusted again, this is the worst deal in history.”
The fresh threat came after Mrs May’s crunch meeting with her Cabinet dragged on hours beyond its expected time.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn blasted the draft deal as “a failure in its own terms”.
A party source told the Mirror the “likelihood” was the party would vote against it in the Commons. Labour MP David Lammy, who backs a second referendum, said: “May’s deal is atrocious for Britain.”