British Prime Minister Theresa May came under fire in the House of Commons on Monday from almost all parties, including some members of her Conservative Party, over the EU withdrawal agreement she signed with the EU.
May described the deal agreed with the EU as “the right deal for Britain” in a first attempt to win enough votes of British lawmakers for an upcoming “meaningful” vote over the deal.
Giving a statement in the House of Commons, May briefed the lawmakers about why she believed the deal was the only option to move on in terms of Brexit.
May told the House that the British people want MPs to get on with a deal and allow the country to come together, urging them to get behind the deal.
Rebuffing criticisms of the deal and especially its backstop clause – set to tie Britain to EU rules until a solution to the Northern Ireland border is found – May said “both the U.K. and the EU are fully committed to having our future relationship in place by 1st January 2021.”
“And the Withdrawal Agreement has a legal duty on both sides to use best endeavors to avoid the backstop ever coming into force,” she said.
-'Self-harm'
But Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said nothing has changed with the deal and if May wants the support of the House, she should prepare a plan B “based on a comprehensive customs union, a strong single market deal that protects rights at work and environmental safeguards”.
“Plowing on is not stoic. It is an act of national self-harm,” Corbyn said.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, asked May to listen to concerns about the backstop.
He underlined that May says she does not want it and the EU doesn’t want it either.
“So why is it in there at all?” he asked, warning that Britain will come under “intolerable pressure” to avoid entering it.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, accused May of selling out Scottish fishermen by agreeing to access to U.K. waters in the deal, adding that Scotland is being taken out of the bloc against its voters’ will.
Owen Paterson, a former Cabinet minister, said many members of the House believe the deal does not deliver on the Tory manifesto promise to take the U.K. out of the customs union.
Sir Bernard Jenkin, a Tory Brexiter, said he had hoped to be able to support May’s deal but he is “sad he can’t.”
Under the current deal, he said, the U.K. will be “giving up control, not taking back control.”
- Vote soon
The House of Commons will vote on the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration before Christmas, May said on Sunday.
As the vote looms, a very turbulent period now lies before the members of the House of Commons.
The numbers in Commons show that May has a Herculean task to convince at least 320 MPs to vote for her deal.
The vote has already been debated since details of the Brexit deal were published last week by the British government. Among the naysayers are the opposition parties, Northern Ireland’s DUP, and some Brexiteer members of May’s Conservative Party.
The vote, one of the most important parliamentary polls in British history, is expected to be held in two weeks.
If May fails to receive support for the agreement, a vote of no confidence is likely to be triggered against her premiership.
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal in London
Anadolu Agency
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