Theresa May accuses Labour of betraying the people over Brexit

Theresa May has accused Labour of planning a “betrayal of the British people” by voting down her Brexit deal and pushing the country towards a no-deal departure from the EU.

With less than a fortnight to go to the historic House of Commons vote on her plan, the Prime Minister urged all MPs – including 100 or more Tories who have said they may rebel – to cast their vote “in the national interest” and back a deal which she said would deliver Brexit while protecting jobs.

In a round of broadcast in- terviews in Argentina, where she is attending the G20 summit, Mrs May declined to discuss whether she might offer a Plan B if her deal is voted down on December 11, or whether defeat could mean her resigning or being forced out.

“It’s not about me,” said Mrs May. “This is about what is in the national interest.

“It’s about delivering the vote to leave the EU and doing it in a way that protects people’s jobs and livelihoods and protects our security and our United Kingdom.”

Her comments came after a cross-party group of senior MPs tabled an amendment to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal if Mrs May’s plan fails to win the support of the Commons.

The amendment, put down by a group of committee chairs, including Labour’s Hilary Benn and prominent Tory Sarah Wollaston, calls for the Commons to be able to express its views about what should happen if Mrs May’s deal is voted down.

Speaking at the G20 in Buenos Aires, European Council president Donald Tusk warned that Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement is “the only possible one” and voting it down will either lead to a nodeal Brexit or no Brexit at all.

He told reporters: “The European Union has just agreed an orderly divorce with the United Kingdom.

“A few days before the vote in the House of Commons it is becoming more and more clear that this deal is the best possible – in fact the only possible one.

“If this deal is rejected in the Commons we are left with, as was already stressed a few weeks ago by Prime Minister May, an alternative: no deal, or no Brexit at all.”

‘It’s not about me. This is about what is in the national interest’

Theresa May