May begs ‘patriotic’ MPs to back deal
DUP demands a seat at the table on future trade talks as price for their support
THERESA MAY today appeals to MPs’ “patriotism” and urges them to cast aside their differences by voting for her Brexit deal to save her premiership.
In a bid to stave off a third heavy defeat, the Prime Minister writes in The
Sunday Telegraph that MPs must “stand together as democrats and patriots” and support her withdrawal deal.
Mrs May’s authority was dealt another blow yesterday when Nick Boles, the Remain-supporting Tory MP, quit his local Conservative association – although he will continue to support the Tories in the House of Commons.
The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that the Prime Minister’s team was yesterday in negotiations in London with DUP leaders Arlene Foster and Nigel Dodds over a two-part plan to win their support. The first part is a guarantee the EU will not treat Northern Ireland and Britain differently in terms of the customs union and single market after Brexit. The second is that DUP MPs will be “deeply involved” in the UK Government negotiating team over the future trade deal with the EU. Mr Dodds told
The Sunday Telegraph last night: “We are determined that Brexit should happen in accordance with the referendum result but the only way it can happen which is acceptable to us is if the United Kingdom is treated as one. The Government is now focused on this key issue but political statements or pledges are not enough.”
Writing in today’s Sunday Telegraph,
Mrs May conceded that she had to offer something to the DUP to have a chance of getting her deal through the Commons. She said: “I know that I will have to do more to convince others, as well as the DUP, if I am to succeed in finally securing a majority for the deal. That remains my goal. It is the only way through the current impasse.”
Mrs May urges MPs to move on from the arguments that shaped the 2016 referendum and back her deal to take Britain out of the EU at the end of next week.
She said: “I am convinced that the time to define ourselves by how we voted in 2016 must now end.
“We can only put those old labels aside if we stand together as democrats and patriots, pragmatically making the honourable compromises necessary to heal division and move forward.
“We dearly need to resolve this question now. If we fail, the way ahead is one of uncertainty and ongoing, perhaps permanent, division. If we succeed, the opportunities are boundless – for a more purposeful politics, a more respectful public discourse
LABOUR will this week back a crossparty amendment that would set the UK placed on course for a referendum on Theresa May’s deal.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the final text of the amendment by backbenchers Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, which has been revised following input from Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary.
Labour plans to whip its MPs to vote for the amendment, which the two backbenchers will table on this week’s Meaningful Vote.
Sir Keir told The Telegraph that the amendment “is clearly in line with the approach the Labour party has taken to a public vote”.
It has also drawn support from Conservative MPs, with Phillip Lee, the former minister, a lead signatory.
The plan would see Parliament vote to approve Mrs May’s deal on the condition that it is then put to a second referendum.
It will add the following text to the Government motion, explaining that MPs will vote for her deal, “but will not allow the implementation and ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement unless and until both it and the Framework for the Future Relationship have been approved by the people of the United Kingdom in a confirmation ballot”.
On Thursday, Mr Kyle and Mr Wilson met Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, and Sir Keir, who said the meeting was “very constructive in finding a way forward”.
“Labour supports a public vote, not as political point-scoring exercise but as a realistic way to break the impasse,” the shadow Brexit secretary added.
Mr Kyle said he was now “100 per cent” ready to move the amendment, after weeks of talks with Sir Keir, Conservative MPs and “more than 10” Tory ministers.
He said: “We are staring down the barrel of the gun, days away from having to turn up at the EU and ask for more time. This is the only option on the table that enables Theresa May to return to the EU with her deal and a way of delivering it.”
Mr Lee, who chairs the Right to Vote campaign, said: “We are limping slowly toward resolution.
“This brings people together and allows a practical and legally deliverable Brexit, subject to a further public vote.”
The Kyle-Wilson amendment is based on the legal framework used in the 2011 Alternative Vote referendum and public ratification of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Kyle said: “Being a confirmatory ballot, it is binding on Parliament, unlike the 2016 referendum which was only advisory. That means it is not going to be the ‘best of three’, or a ‘neverendum’.”
While Remain is expected to be the other option on the ballot, this would be decided by Parliament, which would have to legislate on its wording.
“The Commons would debate if Norway plus, no deal or any other option should be on the ticket,” Mr Kyle said. “This isn’t a fait accompli – people who want no deal would have the opportunity to bring forward an amendment and see if it has a majority.
“There is no outright majority in the Commons for any way forward, so this compromise unifies the Commons,” Mr Kyle added.
“This has support from across the House,” he said. “The reason why this week is important is that many MPs, particularly on the Tory side, want to have demonstrably exhausted every other possible way forward before going back to the public.
“The closer they get to the end game, the more people fall into the category.”
Last week Labour abstained from an amendment on a second referendum tabled by Sarah Wollaston, the Independent Group MP.
‘This brings people together and allows a practical and legally deliverable Brexit, subject to a public vote’