The Prime Minister’s day of reckoning: your questions to Mrs May answered
PM PLEDGES TO DELIVER ON BREXIT
PRIME Minister Theresa May last night move to reassure Sunday Sun readers her Brexit deal delivers on the North East’s overwhelming “Leave” vote in the 2016 referendum.
She insisted there was no question of the UK staying in the EU after March 29, if her deal is approved.
And she endorsed comments from one reader who said her Tory critics such as Jacob Rees-mogg had failed to come up with any alternative plan for Brexit.
The Prime Minister said: “It’s nice to hear someone point this out. I do believe that my deal is the only credible plan on the table.
“It is easy to make suggestions from the sidelines but negotiating day in and day out is a different matter altogether.”
Mrs May was responding to questions provided by readers as she faces a day of reckoning in the Commons on Tuesday.
Readers sent their questions to us, and we passed them on to Number 10.
MPS will vote on Tuesday to endorse or reject Mrs May’s proposed EU withdrawal agreement. Many Westminster observers believe the PM may lose this crucial vote, but she has been campaigning to try to win support for her deal.
A key bone of contention is the “backstop” proposal.
This could lead to the UK remaining in the EU’S Customs Union for an unknown period of time, although Mrs May says the backstop would only come into effect if no other way can be found to prevent a hard border between Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Mrs May said: “The North East voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU, but I believe the Brexit deal that we have negotiated is the right one for every corner of the country.
“It will allow us to take back control of our money, borders and laws while protecting jobs, security and our Union. And it will mean we can concentrate on the domestic priorities that matter most like your jobs, your schools and your NHS.
“My message is simple. Whichever way you voted, now is the time to come together as a country and to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Here are the questions and answers:
Q) 1. Why do Mrs May and other politicians keep quoting the approximate divorce settlement from EU as £38bn, deliberately ignoring our circa £40bn share of EU assets which have been deducted from said divorce bill, so in effect the real settlement is around £78bn? 2. Also, when you say “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, does she not really mean “nothing is agreed until it’s DUPD”? Terence Whitenstall, Newcastle
A) The financial settlement is between £35-39bn, as this figure takes into account what we owe the EU and what they owe us. That is a fair representation of the ‘divorce bill’ and this has also been confirmed by the independent National Audit Office.
On your second question, this phrase was used in reference to negotiations with the European Union. It meant that we wouldn’t agree to the Withdrawal elements, such as paying the money that you refer to in your first question, until we also had agreements on our future relationship.
As you’ll have seen we have now agreed everything- the complete Withdrawal Agreement and a framework for the future. Now it’s up to MPS across all political parties to vote on the deal on Tuesday.
Q) As the country had no idea what exactly they were voting for in the referendum is it not highly hypocritical to suggest MPS may be given a second vote if you lose the first vote, yet you will not allow the British public to vote this time on the terms of Brexit as they now know them?
Ed Hollyman, Cramlington, Northumberland
A) I don’t think there should be a second referendum. People voted to leave the EU in 2016 and politicians need to respect that vote, and get on with the job.
It’s been over two years since the referendum and the overwhelming sense I get when talking to people around the country is that there shouldn’t be any further delays and the government just need to get on with it.
Q) I would like it pointed out very clearly where it states that it is the decision of the UK only to walk away
from the further discussions with the EU, and not requiring the permission or agreement of the EU.
I would like to see a written reassurance that Macron and other countries cannot hold a gun to the head of the UK and make it impossible for the UK to be able to leave the EU.
Lesley Jones, Durham
A) Lesley - we are leaving the European Union on March 29th 2019, just as people voted for in Durham and across the UK. We’ve agreed a deal with European leaders about the terms of our departure, which they signed off at the latest European Council.
I can assure you that there is no question about the United Kingdom being held in the European Union against our will.
Q) My question is simply this, why, after leaving the EU, as an independent country, can we just simply say to the EU “we are quite happy to have an open border in Ireland, free from any customs and travel checks. Surely this will get past the “backstop” that the EU seem determined to enforce?
Andrew Mills, Holywell Village, Northumberland
A) The situation on the island of Ireland is unique. Both sides are committed to ensuring that the people and businesses that depend on an open border can continue living their lives as they do now and that the hard-won gains of the peace process in Northern Ireland are protected.
Of course, as we are leaving the European Union, we are also leaving their customs union and single market. For any other third country this would mean there would need to be checks at any land borders shared with countries in the European
Union. Both sides have been clear that this wouldn’t work on the Northern Ireland- Ireland border and instead our future trading relationship with the EU will negate the need for a hard border.
I’d also remind you that the backstop is no more than an insurance policy, and no-one wants it be to used including the EU. We are confident that our future relationship will be ready by the end of the implementation period.
Q) 1. Are you surprised that 30 months after the referendum, yours is the only plan on the table?
For all the sniping from people like Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees Mogg (pictured), Dominic Raab and David Davis, none of them has published their own blueprint for Brexit which is viable and delivers on the promises they made during the referendum campaign.
2. From the outside it looks like you are pushed around by a small noisy group of Brexiters. After you leave office, will you publish your memoirs and set the record straight?
Warwick Anson, Northumberland
A) 1. It’s nice to hear someone point this out. I do believe that my deal is the only credible plan on the table. It is easy to make suggestions from the side-lines but negotiating day in and day out is a different matter altogether.
What we’ve got on the table now is the very best deal for every part of the UK and it delivers on what people voted for.
We won’t be sending vast annual sums of money to the EU anymore, we’ll take back control of our borders and we’ll be able to decide who comes here based on what they can offer the UK.
That’s what people voted for and that’s what I’m delivering with this deal.
2. You won’t be surprised to hear that my focus right now is getting this deal through Parliament and delivering on the referendum result!
Q) If your deal fails to be approved by parliament you, and the EU, have said that it is the only deal available. You have also both said that the only alternatives are exiting without a deal or no Brexit.
Given that there is widespread opposition to exiting without a deal from a vast majority of MPS and businesses, and with analayses showing that this would detrimental to the countries future, isn’t the only real alternative to remain a member
A) We gave the public the choice, they voted to leave the EU and it is now up to politicians to deliver on this.
I’ve negotiated long and hard to deliver a Brexit deal that’s right for the UK, which protects jobs and the economy.
This deal is in the national interest and I’m urging MPS from across the country to back it on Tuesday.
If the deal does not pass, the government has 21 days to come back to Parliament to explain our next steps, but the government and Parliament need to deliver on the will of the British people.
Q) Instead of leaving the EU, and saying the reason is to get control of immigration, why could you not invest in higher security measures and strict processes and still stay in the EU?
Sarah Khan
A) Thanks for your question, Sarah. I think the first thing to say is that the issue of immigration is only one of many reasons people voted to leave the European Union. Some people voted to take back control of our money and our laws.
The fact is that we’re not staying in the EU - we are leaving on March 29th and I think it’s important that MPS deliver on this vote.