May returns empty-handed as EU leaders insist Brexit deal is closed
European leaders have sent Theresa May back to London empty handed after the Prime Minister visited three EU capitals in a day seeking reassurances that could help save her Brexit deal.
Mrs May was told the UK’S Withdrawal Agreement will not be renegotiated to ease fears over the Irish border backstop and now faces a fresh coup attempt by Brexiteers in her own party.
One Conservative MP told ministers the Prime Minister’s decision to postpone a vote on her Brexit deal was “contemptible” and claimed she had “reached the cliff edge of resignation”.
Meanwhile, the French government announced it was stepping up its preparations and bringing forward new legislation for a no-deal Brexit.
Following talks with the Prime Minister in Brussels last night, European Council president Donald Tusk said the pair had a “long and frank discussion”, but offered little hope of significant movement.
“Clear that EU27 wants to help,” Mr Tusk tweeted. “The question is how.”
Mrs May also met EU Commission president Jeanclaude Juncker, who earlier in the day said the proposed Brexit deal was the “best deal possible” with “no room whatsoever for renegotiation”.
Addressing MEPS, Mr Juncker said: “Of course there is room if used intelligently, there is room enough to give further clarifications and further interpretations without opening the Withdrawal Agreement. This will not happen: everyone has to note that the Withdrawal Agreement will not be reopened.”
He said Brexit would a “surprise guest” at a European Council summit later this week, adding: “I’m surprised because we had reached an agreement on 25 November together with the government of the United Kingdom.
“Notwithstanding that, it would appear that there are problems right at the end of the road.”
Mrs May began the day in The Hague, meeting the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, and also visited Berlin to meet chancellor Angela Merkel as well as her successor, the new leader of the ruling CDU party, Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer.
Following their meeting, Mrs Merkel said: “We said that there will be no further opening of the exit deal.”
The Prime Minister spoke by phone with Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz yesterday afternoon and will travel to Dublin for talks on Brexit with Taioseach Leo Varadkar following a rescheduled cabinet meeting this afternoon.
Mr Varadkar repeated his government’s commitment to the backstop and the Withdrawal Agreement yesterday.
Other European government ruled out significant concessions, with Greece’s Europe minister George Katrougkalos saying “the ball is in the UK’S court”, and France’s Europe minister Nathalie Loiseau warning the EU was preparing for a no-deal Brexit.
Annie Lennox and Jamie Cullum among music stars calling for alternative to Brexit Andrew Woodcock
“We’re very much concerned about postponement of the vote,” Ms Loiseau said. “We’ve done a lot to help UK. This is only possible agreement and we’ve done a lot of concessions to reach it. We have to stand ready for a no deal and we’re preparing for it.”
Mr May brushed aside speculation of an impending leadership challenge amid reports that more letters expressing no-confidence have been lodged by Conservative MPS.
“I have been here in Europe dealing with the issue I have promised Parliament I would be dealing with,” the Prime Minister said. “Whatever outcome we want, whatever relationship we want with the EU in future, there is no deal available that doesn’t have a backstop within it.
“But we don’t want the backstop to be used and if it is we
want to be certain it is only temporary. It is those assurances that I will be seeking from fellow leaders over the coming days.
“I have seen a shared determination to deal with this issue.”
Sir Bill Cash, a staunch Brexiteer, dismissed Mrs May’s last ditch attempt to get concessions from the EU in “secret room” deals.
He said: “The Prime Minister has now reached the cliff edge of resignation, I believe that she may well have to resign ... she is clinging to the wreckage, she has reached the point of no return.”
Tory Brexiteer Nadine Dorries later likened Mrs May to Adolf Hitler in his bunker at the end of the Second World War.
Music stars including Annie Lennox, Jamie Cullum and Paloma Faith are among figures from across the industry to sign a letter calling for an alternative to Brexit.
The letter warned that Brexit represents a “significant threat” to the UK music industry, which was worth £4.5 billion to the economy last year.
The message was drafted by the group Music4eu, whose co-organiser, Sammy Andrews, said Brexit was “an unmitigated disaster for Britain’s world-leading music industry”.
Among other stars signing were Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde, film composer David Arnold, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, former Oasis manager and co-founder of Creation Records Alan Mcgee, Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, Mercury-nominated singer Nadine Shah, as well as Ed Sheeran’s manager, Stuart Camp.
Their call was backed by industry bodies including the Musicians’ Union, the Association of Independent Music, the Music Managers Forum, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors and the Music Producers Guild.
The letter said: “Brexit represents a significant threat to the UK’S music industry.
“Leaving the EU’S customs union, single market, VAT area and regulatory framework (in whole or part) could devastate our global market leadership, and damage our freedom to trade, tour and to promote our artists and our works.
“In the post-brexit UK, there is a clear risk that reaching consumers and fans will be more expensive, and international markets will be harder to access. Live events will run the danger of being delayed or even cancelled, which would undermine the financial and cultural benefits that this vibrant sector brings to UK plc.
“No-one voted for this situation, whether they voted Leave or Remain. It is critical to find a way out of this mess, and therefore we ask you to examine alternative options to maintain our current … freedom to trade.”
Mr Andrews, chief executive of Deviate Digital, said: “Rarely do so many factions within the music industry unite on any subject, but Music4eu’s signatory list so far is a clear indication of the level of concern over the current mess, and how widely it impacts every corner of this sector. Brexit is an unmitigated disaster for Britain’s world-leading music industry.”