Sunak faces demand for vote on Brexit deal

Sceptical backbenchers fear Government will try to ‘bludgeon’ through its new pact with the EU

‘It leaves us going into the election looking like circus clowns. Collectively we have to put this to bed before the election’

RISHI SUNAK is facing demands from Tory eurosceptics to guarantee Parliament a vote on his new Brexit deal.

The Prime Minister is poised to sign off the pact with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, during a meeting in Windsor today.

He is then set to address the Commons to outline the agreement, before a legal text is published so that backbenchers can pore over the details.

But Downing Street is refusing to say if Parliament will be granted a vote on the deal, and whether the result of any vote would be binding.

Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, said yesterday that MPS “will have the opportunity to express themselves on the deal” but did not commit to a ballot.

The remarks raised concerns amongst Brexiteer backbenchers who fear the Government will try to “bludgeon” the deal through.

Members of the European Research Group (ERG) are looking at ways they could force a Parliamentary vote if Downing Street refuses to grant one.

Mark Francois, the group’s chairman, warned the Government it would be “incredibly unwise” to try to pass the deal without giving MPS a proper say.

A senior member of the group added: “If the Government are so proud of this ‘deal’ why are they clearly terrified of allowing a vote on it? Besides, there are various ways of forcing a vote in the House of Commons.”

The source said Tory MPS could even engineer a vote through an adjournment debate, a route most famously used in 1940 to bring down Neville Chamberlain.

Other routes open to restless MPS would include tabling an amendment to a related piece of legislation which would be turned into a vote on the deal They could also apply to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the Commons, for an emergency debate on the agreement.

One minister said that it “would be odd” not to hold a ballot, adding that eurosceptics would “find a way to manufacture” one anyway.

“It would be strange if we entered into an international binding treaty and an attempt was made to avoid parliament,” they warned Mr Sunak. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a binding vote or not. What really matters is eurosceptics and the DUP are kicking off and saying it is not a done deal.

“That leaves us going into the election looking like circus clowns. Collectively we have to put this to bed before the election.”

Tory backbenchers have also warned Mr Sunak not to think that he can simply pass the deal with the support of Labour. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said: “No Government survives that exists on the back of votes from the opposition on major constitutional issues.”

The row came as the ERG set out its red lines for accepting any Brexit deal which include “expunging” all EU law from Northern Ireland.

But the agreement Mr Sunak has struck with Brussels is not expected to go that far as that, as it is not thought to change the legal text of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Instead it is set to overwrite the original deal to minimise checks in the Irish Sea and the powers of the European Court of Justice over the province.

The Protocol is the rules governing post Brexit trade in Northern Ireland. It prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland by moving checks to the Irish Sea. However, since it was originally agreed two years ago, there have been complaints from Unionists and Tory Brexiteers that it creates barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and leaves the province unable to fully benefit from Brexit.

The row has contributed to the suspension of devolved rule in Northern Ireland. Both the EU and the UK have agreed that changes must be made and have been negotiating over a revised deal. The new deal is set to create a system of red and green lanes for goods travelling between Great Britain and Ulster which will eliminate most paperwork.

Products that are destined for sale in Northern Ireland only will be exempt from almost all of the bureaucracy that currently blights companies. Only those goods which are intended for the Republic of Ireland, and possible onwards movement to the rest of the EU, will have to undergo full customs and safety checks.

Downing Street will argue that the new system meets three of the DUP’S seven tests for accepting a deal by completely removing the Irish Sea border. But Eurosceptics have warned that just eliminating red tape will not be enough to win them around if the agreement does not address sovereignty concerns.

A briefing note circulated to ERG members yesterday said MPS should question under whose jurisdiction responsibility for the red and green lanes will fall. “Reduction of checks is meaningless if the legal obligation for goods to comply with EU laws still applies, or if there are reams of paperwork still required,” it said.

The deal is also set to include new provisions to rein in the power of European judges. Brussels will commit not to refer disputes over the application of EU regulations in the province to its own court. Such cases will go before the Northern Irish courts or an independent arbitration panel, which will have to consult the ECJ when making a decision. European judges will keep their power as the “ultimate arbiter” of EU law, meaning that the advice they hand down will be binding.

Downing Street is set to argue that the elimination of the Irish Sea border will mean that there is almost nothing left for the bloc’s court to rule on. But eurosceptic MPS and the DUP have been holding out for an agreement that completely removes the application of all European law in Ulster.