Thursday 11 April 2019

I'm not going anywhere! May vows to 'leave the EU with a deal

A defiant Theresa May today refused to resign and  blamed MPs for forcing her to delay Brexit until Halloween as she urged Jeremy Corbyn to 'compromise' and agree a deal so Britain can leave the EU 'as soon as possible'.

Mrs May faced the Commons after EU leaders humiliated her at a Brussels summit by imposing an Article 50 extension to October 31 - not the June 30 date she wanted.

She confronted MPs in Parliament today and insisted Britain will be able to leave the EU before Halloween if they pass her deal, and will avoid European elections if this happens before May 22.

But the PM admitted she accepted an EU diktat that no renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement including the Irish backstop will be possible.  

And if talks fail with Labour she said she will offer MPs a series of new binding indicative votes on alternatives to her Brexit deal, including a customs union and a second referendum.

After jetting back to London today she used a speech to pitch for the support of Labour MPs as her own Brexiteers were openly plotting her downfall.


In a string of attacks by Tory MPs, Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, blasted her 'abject surrender' in Brussels and asked: 'Will you resign?' 

The Prime Minister literally laughed it off and said: 'I think you know the answer to that' before chortling again when Tory ERG deputy chairman Steve Baker asked her if she would use Labour to prop up her Government if the DUP abandons her. 


But former minister Sarah Newton urged Mrs May to 'ignore the bullies' on the Tory benches and stay on as PM while Ken Clarke said she should not quit in the face of 'vicious' attacks from her own MPs.

Mrs May dodged questions over whether she would offer Labour a customs union to get her deal over the line - but urged the the opposition to help her deliver Brexit.

Looking at Mr Corbyn she said: 'However challenging it may be politically, I profoundly believe it is incumbent on both front benches to seek to work together to deliver what the British people voted for. And I think that the British people expect their politicians to do just that when the national interest demands it'.

The Prime Minister hinted her deal could return fourth time, even if there is no breakthrough with Labour, and insisted: 'I continue to believe we need to leave the EU with a deal as soon as possible'.  

In a fiery session in the Commons today:


  • Theresa May again blamed MPs for Britain not leaving the European Union on March 29 and tomorrow;
  • She laughed off demands for her to quit over the EU's Halloween extension - despite previously insisting as Prime Minister she could not 'countenance' staying in the bloc beyond June 30;
  • Talks with Labour will continue - but look precarious after she refused to back the customs union Jeremy Corbyn is demanding and also ruled out offering a second referendum;
  • MPs have been given a 12-day recess after Article 50 was extended - and the PM urged them to 'reflect' on Brexit over Easter to help vote her deal through after they come back on April 23; 

The Prime Minister's speech came around an hour after MPs cheers and laughed as they can have a 12-day recess for Easter now Brexit is delayed - hours after Donald Tusk had urged them: 'Don't waste this time'. 

Addressing MPs Mrs May said: 'We need to resolve this. So let us use the opportunity of the recess to reflect on the decisions that will have to be made swiftly on our return after Easter. And let us then resolve to find a way through this impasse - so that we can leave the European Union with a deal as soon as possible'.    

Mrs May said, if agreement on a deal could not be reached, the Government will put alternatives such as a customs union and a second referendum to MPs in a series of binding votes.

She said: 'I hope that we can reach an agreement on a single unified approach that we can put to the House for approval.

'But if we cannot do so soon, then we will seek to agree a small number of options for the future relationship that we will put to the House in a series of votes to determine which course to pursue.

'And as I have made clear before, the Government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House. But to make this process work, the Opposition would need to agree to this too.' 





MailOnline

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