10 December 2018

POLITICO: Theresa May delays Brexit vote over risk of ‘significant’ defeat

In a statement to the House of Commons she acknowledged the "widespread and deep concern” over the controversial Irish backstop, which is designed to avoid a hard border, admitting her deal would be rejected by a “significant margin” if the vote was held.

May said she would "discuss with them the clear concerns that this house has expressed," about the backstop with EU leaders in Brussels and with member countries. [...]

"I have listened very carefully to what has been said, in this chamber and out of it, by members from all sides," May told MPs. "From listening to those views it is clear that while there is broad support for many of the key aspects of the deal, on one issue — the Northern Ireland backstop — there remains widespread and deep concern."

"I still believe there is a majority to be won in this House in support of it, if I can secure additional reassurance on the question of the backstop," she said, adding that ministers were also looking at new ways of “empowering the House of Commons” to ensure any provision for the backstop has democratic legitimacy.

May told MPs she was in “absolutely no doubt that this deal is the right one,” and believed there was a  majority to be won in the house in support of it if she could secure additional reassurance on the question of the backstop. Controversial aspects of the deal, including the backstop, were “simply inescapable facts of having a negotiated Brexit,” she told MPs. [...]

Full article on POLITICO

PM's statement on exiting the European Union

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