Brexit: Theresa May to face cabinet showdown over deal

[Graham]

14 Nov 2018 BBC News

Theresa May faces a crunch cabinet meeting later as she tries to win colleagues' support for a draft Brexit agreement between the UK and EU.

Senior ministers will gather in Downing Street at 14:00 GMT amid calls to reject the deal from both senior Brexiteers and some Remain supporters.

The Democratic Unionists have warned it could lead to the break-up of the UK.

But the BBC's Norman Smith said No 10 were stressing it had pushed "right to the wire" and "gone as far as we can".

He said the prime minister would seek to head off the threat of any resignations by telling her ministers that while not perfect, the agreement was as good as it can get.

Downing Street, he added, were pointing to what they view as significant wins, including no separate customs border for Northern Ireland and an arbitration mechanism to ensure the UK can exit the proposed "backstop" customs arrangement.

more.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46203425

[Graham]

Can see the government falling soon. This will have to be a labour-conservative coalition to get this through, but after that how do you pass budgets. The DUP are unionists first in the way some nationalists are independence first before mayhem.

It will take the English and Welsh to get this through, with Scots and Ulster voting against it ironically.

How do others see this going?

[Graham]

The SNP will not back the draft Brexit agreement between the UK and EU as it currently stands, the party's leader at Westminster has confirmed.

Ian Blackford said it appeared the party's "red lines" on Scotland remaining in the single market and customs union had not been met.

And he said any special arrangements for Northern Ireland must also apply to Scotland.

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Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said a draft Brexit deal between the UK and Brussels "fundamentally undermines the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK".

He said his party wants to see Brexit, but "this is not the right Brexit".

His comments come as talks enter crunch time, with the Irish border the sticking point.

Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar is holding a special cabinet meeting.

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Lib Dem MP Layla Moran says the draft agreement does not please anyone and a choice should be put to the people.

Speaking on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, she said: “What strikes me is that today is all about speaking to us and selling it to us [MPs].

“Actually what I am interested in is asking if is this what the people actually wanted.

“This is where a people’s vote is necessary – it is only logical now that it has come back, now we know what it is.

“I don’t remember seeing this kind of a deal during the Leave campaign. No one wanted this and hardliners are now deserting Theresa May.

“This is why it needs to go back to the people. We need to double check that this is what they wanted, and they need that option to remain in the EU if they feel that is a better option.”

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Kate Hoey, the Labour MP and Leave supporter, said the draft agreement did not offer what people had voted for.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5Live, she said: "What we did agree to was that people voted to leave.

"That meant leaving the institutions and I think that this will not be acceptable to most people.

"Ironically, we're finding that we're on the same side as many of those who voted Remain on this."

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Labour's Owen Smith won't vote for deal
Former shadow Northern Ireland secretary tweets...

"Did anyone out there vote for a Brexit plan that would help break up the UK, cede political and economic sovereignty and make us all poorer? No, and I won’t be voting for it either."

[Graham]

Retailers welcome news of agreement -- BBC

The British Retail Consortium has welcomed the news of a draft agreement.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the group, said: “This is a welcome step towards a deal as retailers urgently need certainty as we approach the date of the UK’s departure from the EU.

"It is vital that we avoid the cliff edge of no deal in March 2019 as this could immediately lead to consumers facing higher prices and reduced availability of many everyday products.

"We need to see a withdrawal agreement secured so that frictionless trade is protected through the transition period.”

[Grace O'Malley]

The whole situation is a mess. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain and England and Wales voted to leave. Can't keep everyone happy. No one wants a border in Ireland but the only way for that to happen is for Northern Ireland to remain in the Customs Union but the DUP won't like that even though all the other parties in NI would be happy and then Scotland is saying they want the same deal as Northern Ireland. So really the only way is for all the UK to remain in the Customs Union which makes you wonder why would you leave the EU for that because you have no say but have to abide by the EU rules. The people that voted for Brexit want a clean break from the EU so they are going to have a melt down if the UK stays in a Customs Union.

There will have to either be a border in the Irish Sea or all the UK has to be in a Customs Union. If no deal is reached then WTO rules apply which won't be good for anyone.

[Graham]

The conservatives have no voters in Northern Ireland to worry about losing. You will hear about fishing rights to try and not lose votes in North East Scotland, you will hear about agriculture and the channel border at France to keep their voter base happy. If it were not for a minority government the Irish issue would not have been as difficult for them.

I kind of feel sorry for the DUP as it is like their parents are looking at ways to get their troubled child to leave home.

[Graham]

There are rumours that some Tories are calling for a no confidence vote.

[Graham]

The resignations have begun this morning. Three so far, two high profile. McVey and Raab. The cabinet passed the bill without vote.

May to speak in house of Commons soon, expect fireworks. Have not saw it this bad in my lifetime.

[Graham]

There are rumours that some Tories are calling for a no confidence vote.

The letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister have begun. There needs to be 48 letters from Conservative MPs.

Rees-Mogg: 'Not a coup'

Jacob Rees-Mogg said that "coup" is the wrong word, as he is following legitimate means to try and oust the PM.

"What has happened today is not Brexit," he continues. "The law to Leave has already been passed, the withdrawal act is through.

"But what we need is a leader to say to the European Union, it is impossible to divide up the United Kingdom, it is impossible to agree to a situation where we have a perpetual customs union, it is impossible to pay £39bn of taxpayers' money for a few promises which was meant to be £39bn for implementation of a deal, and it is impossible for us to allow the continuing jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

"The problem is that the negotiations have given way on all the key points."

[Neon Knight]

I think May's deal is actually quite good, given the narrow referendum result. It is a better option than remaining or leaving with no deal. The Tory hard-liners are risking losing everything.