May tells MPS: ‘My deal delivers for every corner of the UK’
● But Prime Minister faces another round of hostile questions in Commons as Brexiteers attack Northern Ireland backstop
Theresa May has been told by her own MPS the Brexit deal she has agreed is a “huge gamble” that will put the UK under “intolerable pressure”, in a rocky start for a two-week campaign to get it through Parliament.
The Prime Minister confirmed that MPS will vote on 11 December to approve the Brexit terms signed off by EU leaders at the weekend.
But with nearly 100 Conservative MPS now saying they oppose the deal, Downing Street risked sparking outrage on the Government’s own benches by inviting Labour MPS to a briefing on the deal, in the hope of winning over parliamentarians representing Brexit-voting districts.
Mrs May will take her campaign for the deal directly to the public today, visiting Wales and Northern Ireland to argue that it will deliver for the Union. She will visit Scotland later this week.
“My deal delivers for every corner of the UK and I will work hard to strengthen the bonds that unite us as we look ahead to our future outside of the EU,” Mrs May said, adding
THERESA MAY
she had “fought to ensure that powers returning from the EU will be restored to the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly”.
Downing Street also stepped up the campaign in Parliament, writing to MPS with an explicit warning that voting against the deal could result in a second EU referendum that reverses Brexit. It was confirmed there will be five days of debate over two weeks, starting on 4 December.
Yesterday the Prime Minister made her third Commons statement in less than a fortnight, bringing to nearly nine hours the amount of time she has spent facing largely hostile questions from MPS.
She appealed to Brexiteers in her own party not to reject the deal, insisting that it “delivers for the British people”.
But she found little support on her own benches, with nearly an hour passing before any MP spoke up in favour.
In a worrying sign for Downing Street, the former defence secretary Michael Fallon, seen as a loyal figure, warned the deal was a “huge gamble” that traded away large amounts of sovereignty without any guarantee of a positive trade deal.
Mrs May tried to tackle the source of Brexiteer anger head on, saying the UK would have crashed out of the EU unless it had accepted the Irish border backstop.
“I do not pretend that either we or the EU are entirely happy with these arrangements,” she said. “But there is no alternative deal that honours our commitmentstonorthernireland which does not involve this insurance policy. And the EU would not have agreed any future partnership without it.”
She added: “Put simply, there is no deal that comes without a backstop, and without a backstop there is no deal.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Commons would have “very little choice” but to reject Mrs May’s “botched” deal. He said: “There can be no doubt this deal would leave us with the worst of all worlds – no say over future rules and no certainty for the future.”
He added: “Ploughing on is not stoic, it’s an act of national self-harm. Instead of threatening this House with a no-deal scenario of a no-brexit scenario, the Prime Minister now needs to prepare a plan B.”
There was evidence of another appeal for cross-party support when Mrs May said she was wrong for suggesting EU nationals had “jumped the queue” ahead of immigrants from other countries. She told the SNP’S Philippa Whitford: “I should not have used that language in that speech.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford had earlier attacked Mrs May over the comments, calling them a “slur” and telling the Commons the Brexit deal “blatantly disregards the rights that we will all lose to live and work in Europe. We are not prepared to give up those rights”.
He also emphasised the SNP’S support for another referendum on EU membership.
The Scottish Government will publish its analysis of the economic impact from Mrs May’s Brexit deal today.
Constitutional relations secretary Michael Russell said it was now clear that MPS were being asked to vote on a “blindfold Brexit with major issues left unresolved”.
“I will work hard to strengthen the bonds that unite us as we look ahead to our future outside of the EU”
MPS ‘must know if UK can reverse Brexit’ when they vote on May’s deal next month
MPS must know whether the UK can unilaterally decide to reverse Brexit when they vote on the deal, a group of politicians have said ahead of a landmark hearing at Europe’s highest court.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg will hear a case brought by the crossparty group, arguing the UK government has the power to withdraw Article 50 and stop the Brexit process without needing to seek agreement from the other 27 EU member states.
Political figures supporting the legal action said that if they are successful, it would give MPS more options for an alternative to Theresa May’s Brexit
By Paris Gourtsoyannis
deal and boost the campaign for a second referendum on EU membership.
The case has been expedited due to its importance and urgency, and will be heard in a single day.
Writing in The Scotsman today, Catherine Stihler, the Labour MEP for Scotland, said MPS should “await the outcome” of the case before making their decision. “I very much hope the Luxembourg verdict is known before that
meaningful vote takes place in Parliament,” she says.
“MPS should await the outcome, as a positive verdict would give them the option of pausing Brexit – not just picking between the dreadful choice of Mrs May’s deal or no deal.”
Ms Stihler adds: “We must hold our nerve. We owe it to every voter in the UK to ensure that all avenues are fully explored.”
Downing Street has confirmed the vote on the Brexit deal will take place on 11 December following five days of debate.
The case was referred to the ECJ by the Court of Session following an appeal.
The UK Government last week failed in a bid at the Supreme Court to have the case halted.
Green MSP Andy Wightman, who is also supporting the action, said: “We don’t know what the court is going to say, but whatever it says it should provide MPS with a greater amount of flexibility and options.
“Things are very chaotic and we’d hoped we might get this answer much, much earlier, but we’ve had to struggle through appeals and more appeals.
“But we’re confident we’ll get the ruling before MPS make their decision in December.”
Another parliamentarian backing the case, the SNP MP Joanna Cherry, claimed the Prime Minister “wants MPS to think the options are her deal or no deal at all”. “The fact that the UK government has fought this case tooth and nail at considerable expense shows how desperate the PM is to prevent MPS having the certainty that Brexit can be stopped and that is the question on which the Court of Justice will now rule,” Ms Cherry said.
“I’m particularly proud that it’s Scottish parliamentarians and the Scottish legal system who have ensured that this case will give all the nations of the UK the knowledge we need to extricate ourselves from the mess the Tories have created with their infighting over the EU.”
The case has been backed by campaigner Jolyon Maugham QC of the Good Law Project, with support from a crowdfunding campaign to cover legal costs.