‘My deal, no deal or no Brexit’: UK’s May fights for survival

Prime Minister Theresa May has said her draft agreement on Britain’s departure from the European Union is the only way to avoid a no-deal Brexit as she faced political attacks from all sides, including a threat of a no-confidence vote from inside her own party. 

Speaking before a hostile parliament after several ministers quit on Thursday, the leader of Britain’s Conservative party told legislators “the choice is clear”.

“We can choose to leave with no deal, we can risk no Brexit at all, or we can chose to unite and support the best deal that can be negotiated,” May told the House of Commons. 

Her comments came after two cabinet ministers, including the head of Brexit negotiations, and two junior ministers quit the government in protest at the agreement over Britain’s departure from the bloc on March 29, 2019.

In his resignation letter, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said that May’s plan threatened the integrity of the UK.

“I regret to say that, following the cabinet meeting yesterday on the Brexit deal, I must resign,” he said on Thursday.

“I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election. This is, at its heart, a matter of public trust.”

Esther McVey, the secretary for work and pensions, said the draft deal “does not honour the result of the referendum” in her own resignation letter.

Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who leads a group of anti-EU Conservatives, submitted on a letter of no-confidence in the prime minister saying that “it would be in the interest of the party and the country if she were to stand aside”.

Is it time to write? pic.twitter.com/K2S9ZSwPKU

— Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) November 15, 2018

At least 48 such letters from Conservative MPs are required to trigger a vote of no-confidence in the party leader, but a majority of the party’s 315 legislators would have to vote against May in order for her to be ousted.

Amid the political turmoil, the pound plunged on currency markets, falling 1.7 percent to $1.27, its second biggest drop after it fell 1.73 percent against the US dollar in September.

Preparing for no-deal

May told legislators that they will have to consider the British people’s vote to leave the EU in a June 2016 referendum when parliament is asked to vote on a final Brexit agreement, which could potentially happen in December.

The referendum saw 52 percent of voters choosing to leave the EU, while 48 percent voted to remain. 

The results triggered international shock and questions as to how Brexit could be implemented – The UK and EU economies are intertwined, as is their territory.

One of the most complicated issues is the prospect of a “hard border” in Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but shares a border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state.

There were concerns about Brexit endangering the Good Friday Agreement, which provided a framework for the peace process in Northern Ireland. 

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday an agreement that avoids a hard border and endangering the Good Friday Agreement – even in the event of a no-deal Brexit – had been reached, according to The Guardian.

EU leaders will meet on November 25 to endorse May’s divorce deal, although the British prime minister acknowledged that a number of obstacles remained before Brexit could be finalised.

“We have been preparing for no-deal and we continue to prepare for no-deal because I recognise that we have a further stage of negotiation with the European Council and then that deal when finalised … has to come back to this House,” she told parliament.

But politicians on all sides told May that there was no way the proposed EU withdrawal agreement could pass their approval, with arch-Brexiteers and EU loyalists alike insisting it was already sunk.

“After two years of bungled negotiations, the government has produced  a botched deal that breaches the prime minister’s own red lines and does not meet our six tests,” Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, told parliament..

Corbyn has said Labour will vote against any deal that does not meet its tests, which include delivering the same benefits Britain currently has as a member of the EU customs union and single market.

“The government is in chaos,” Corbyn said. “Their deal risks leaving the country in an indefinite halfway house without a real say.

“The government simply cannot put to parliament this half-baked deal that both the Brexit secretary and his predecessor have rejected.”