Theresa May: If MPs reject Brexit deal, we may never leave EU

Theresa May has said if Parliament rejects her Brexit deal next week Britain “may never leave the EU”.

MPs are due to vote next Tuesday in a new ‘meaningful vote’ on her Brexit deal.

In a speech in Grimsby today, Mrs May said “no one knows” what will happen if MPs reject her deal.

“Next week MPs in Westminster face a crucial choice: whether to back the Brexit deal or to reject it.

Back it and the UK will leave the European Union. Reject it and no one knows what will happen.

“We may not leave the EU for many months, we may leave without the protections that the deal provides. We may never leave at all.”

If the Prime Minister’s deal is passed, she may still need to extend article 50 in order to make arrangements for Brexit Day.

However, it is unsure what could happen if the vote fails, and will leave Parliament in chaos searching for an alternative in time for March 29.

Any extension to the article 50 process requires unanimous agreement from the rest of the EU.

The Prime Minister said that rejecting the deal would mean “the only certainty would be ongoing uncertainty.”

She also sidestepped questions over whether she would allow Tory MPs to block a no-deal Brexit.

“Months more spent arguing about Brexit when we could be focusing on improving our NHS, our schools and our communities,” she said.

Mrs May said discussions with the EU had been “at times difficult and robust” but both sides had worked to get a good deal over the line.

The first meaningful vote, in January, saw the deal rejected by 432 to 202 – the largest ever government defeat.

She confirmed she will open the debate in the Commons on Tuesday.

And she added: “Brexit does not belong to MPs in Parliament. It belongs to the whole country. It belongs to the people who voted for it and want to see it implemented so we can all move on to a prosperous future.

“And that more prosperous future also belongs to those who voted against Brexit and who expect politicians to make reasonable compromises to bring our country back together.

“Everyone now wants to get it done, move beyond the arguments, past the bitterness of the debate and out of the EU as a united country ready to make a success of the future.”

Her speech came as Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the Government has failed to offer any solutions on the Withdrawal Agreement.

Great Grimsby’s Labour MP Melanie Onn met Theresa May after her speech but said the Prime Minister needed to move closer to the Opposition’s position.

“She must be aware that if she needs to get the deal through and the backstop arrangements are insufficient to secure the support from her back benches, there will need to be movement towards securing more support from Labour members,” she told BBC Radio 4’s World At One.

Asked if she could back the deal, the shadow housing minister said: “As it stands, no. Nothing has changed from when she brought it forward in January.”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech, the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “Theresa May must stop passing the buck and take personal responsibility for the Brexit crisis created as a result of her own intransigence.

“The Tory leader’s damaging Brexit deal is fundamentally flawed and would be devastating for Scotland – inflicting lasting harm on jobs, living standards, our public services and the economy.

“With three weeks to go until the UK is due to crash out of the EU, it is vital that MPs reject May’s bad deal, extend Article 50, and hold a second referendum on EU membership.”