The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tayside and Fife MPs to reject deal in event of a Commons vote
Fears over the backstop voiced by the two MPs backing May
Theresa May’s Brexit will be rejected by Tayside and Fife MPs if the Commons vote goes ahead.
All but two of the area’s nine MPs have told The Courier they plan to vote against the withdrawal agreement and framework for future EU-UK relations, which is due to take place tomorrow.
Tory MPs Kirstene Hair and Luke Graham are backing the prime minister over the deal, but expressed reservations over her backstop plan.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Secretary has defended his decision not to quit and support the draft agreement, which contains provisions he previously said he could not stomach.
David Mundell wrote a letter to Mrs May in October saying he could not support Scotland and Northern Ireland being treated differently.
Quizzed on how he could back a deal that goes against that red line, Mr Mundell told the BBC: “I believe the greatest threat to the integrity of the UK comes from having a no-deal Brexit.
“I’ve had to make a judgment on what is in the backstop, which is a temporary measure which may never come into force, and what risk that causes to the integrity of the UK compared to crashing out of the EU.”
Under the backstop plan, which kicks in if there is no EU-UK trade deal by the end of the 2020, Northern Ireland will remain in the single market for goods and be subject to some EU rules, while the rest of the UK would not.
Tayside’s Conservatives both raised fears over the backstop, which guards against a hard Irish border if an alternative solution is not found in time.
Ms Hair, the Angus MP, said that insurance policy “remains a concern and I would prefer an end date”. Mr Graham, for Ochil and South Perthshire, said it is a “difficult point” for him.
A final decision is to be made in Number 10 today over whether the vote tomorrow should go ahead given the likelihood the Commons will reject it.
Stephen Gethins, the SNP MP for North East Fife, said: “Tuesday’s Brexit vote should go ahead as planned – to allow MPs to firmly reject the prime minister’s bad deal and send a clear message to this government that they’ve failed over Brexit.”