Brexit deal branded ‘dead as a dodo’ as 31 MPs lined up to savage the PM’s deal in Commons showdown
THERESA MAY’s Brexit deal was branded as “dead as a dodo” as MPs lined up to maul the PM over her agreement with the EU.
Tory backbencher Mark Francois pleaded with the Prime Minister to change course – as the first 31 MPs called in a Commons debate all slammed the PM.
Mrs May had desperately tried to defend the agreement with Brussels – insisting it “delivered for the British people”.
But in a charged Chamber, Mr Francois told her: “The Sun this morning described this as a surrender – I am afraid it is.
“No sooner is the ink dry than the Spanish are after Gibraltar, the French are after our fish. The Prime Minister and the whole House knows the mathematics. This will never get through. So it’s as dead as a dodo.”
Former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon added: “It’s a huge gamble.”
And Labour’s Yvette Cooper warned it could entail a “massive security downgrade”. It took the 32nd MP called by the Speaker - ex-Minister and Remain campaigner Nicky Morgan – to come to the PM’s rescue.
She said the braver and right thing for MPs to do was stop criticising and scrutinise the deal.
- Whips revealed the Commons will vote on the agreement on December 11th – in a historic moment that could trigger the end of Mrs May’s reign.
- Ex-Sports Minister Tracey Crouch became the 95th Tory backbencher to say they would vote against the agreement.
- Tory backbencher Andrew Lewer became the 27th to publicly reveal he had written a letter of No Confidence in the Prime Minister.
- Furious Tories ripped into Theresa May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell for deciding to brief Labour MPs on the deal in a bid to win their support.
In the debate, the PM once more urged MPs to listen to their constituents, whom she claimed wanted Brexit “settled” in a way that ended unlimited EU immigration but also protected their jobs.
And in a slap down to rebels, she said there was no other Brexit deal that could avoid the controversial so-called Irish ‘backstop’ customs pact.
Dismissing talk of a ‘Plan B’, she told the Commons: “There is No Deal without a backstop, and without a backstop there is No Deal.”
Downing Street had earlier indicated it believed a Norway-style Brexit – where the UK would sign up to the European Economic Area – wouldn’t honour the result of the 2016 Referendum.
But Jeremy Corbyn reiterated it was the “worst of all worlds”. Referring to the PM’s warning a no vote could plunge the country back to square one, he replied: “We’ve never got beyond square one.”
A handful of loyal Tories pledged their support as yesterday’s marathon 2.5 hour debate came to an end. Mark Streeter MP praised the PM for “living in the real world”. “No one else has put forward a better deal,” he said.
APOLOGY FOR 'QUEUE JUMP' JIBE
By Steve Hawkes, Deputy Political Editor
THERESA May shocked MPs yesterday in the House by apologising for saying free movement rules had allowed EU workers to “jump the queue” into Britain.
Challenged in the Commons over remarks to a business conference last week, the Prime Minister said she should “not have used that language”.
It follows years at the Home Office where, as Home Secretary, Mrs May forged her reputation on championing stricter controls at the borders.
The PM said: “I should not have used that language in that speech.”
She explained herself by insisting that her point was that the public want people to be judged on their skills “rather than simply on where they come from”.
Veteran Tory Bob Neil added: “Business urged me to support the dead as indeed I shall.”
But furious Ulster Unionists in the DUP renewed their threats to pull all support for the PM.
Sammy Wilson stormed: “The ink was hardly dry on this agreement before the French President was saying he would be using the legally binding provisions to level further concessions on fishing and other issues.
“Does the Prime Minister not recognise that by signing this legally binding agreement she is handing the EU a cudgel, which it will use to mug us for a second time when it comes to negotiations on the future trade arrangements?”
POWER TO ALL OF UK
PRIME Minister Theresa May will say her Brexit plans give more powers to the devolved Home Nations when she visits Wales and Northern Ireland today.
She will tell employers and politicians that more than 150 areas of policy will pass from the EU to the Union after Brexit.
“My deal delivers for every corner of the UK,” Mrs May will say.
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