Back this deal and we can win the next fight

OUR doughty and courageous Prime Minister is faced with a growing number of Tory Brexiteers and Remainers set to join Labour, Scottish Nationalists and Lib Dems in voting her deal down.

So today she follows the example of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and reaches out to the British people, to make her case and appeal to them to put pressure on parliamentarians to back her plans for a “brighter future”.

For those of us who have fought long and hard for Brexit it is not an easy deal to swallow. The Northern Ireland backstop seems to threaten a lifetime purgatory under EU rule, while issues such as the level playing field appear to undermine our freedom to strike trade deals.

But the EU has also been forced to make big concessions over its own rules and money. We should also note that the backstop solution is difficult for both sides and is not one which either party would want to keep in perpetuity.

What has also been lost in the debate is that this takes us to stage two on the future relationship with the EU and there is still much to be gained and fought over.

By supporting this Withdrawal Agreement, MPs will allow the country and EU to move on to the next stage and decide whether we want a very close or more distant relationship with the EU.

Most importantly it guarantees Brexit happens. If the agreement fails, it is likely Remainer MPs will find a way to stop Brexit.

With that in mind we should thank Mrs May for getting as good a deal as she can and MPs should back it. But there can be no sell-out in the next round of talks to appease Remainers or Brussels bureaucrats.