May pulls Commons vote on Brexit deal
By Caoimhe Toman
Date: Monday 10 Dec 2018
(Sharecast News) - Prime Minister Theresa May called off a crunch vote on her Brexit deal in Parliament set for Tuesday after it became obvious that it would result in a massive defeat which some observers said might even destabilise her government.
The vote would be rescheduled, May told parliament, although no date was given. The prime minister said she would visit other EU leaders as well as the heads of the European council and the commission before a European summit this week in an effort to relay MPs' concerns over the Irish border backstop which have derailed her plan.
Earlier, traders sent the pound tumbling to its lowest level since April 2017 following news of her decision to pull the vote.
After a chaotic Monday morning of conflicting messages from cabinet ministers and off -stage sources claiming the vote was either definitely on or definitely off, May told MPs in the House of Commons that there remained "widespread and deep concern" about the Northern Ireland backstop and that the Brexit plan would be defeated by a "significant margin".
However, the European Union was steadfast in its position that the agreed deal was the only one on the table. A European Commission spokeswoman said on Monday afternoon that the bloc was not willing to negotiate another Brexit deal: "As president Juncker said, this deal is the best and the only deal possible. We will not renegotiate."
May last month secured a withdrawal agreement after two years of negotiating with Brussels, but the plan has faced intense criticism both from within her own party as well as from the opposition.
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked May for trying to force a doomed deal on parliament and not listening to critics.
"Instead, she ploughed ahead when she should have gone back to Brussels to renegotiate or called an election so the public could elect a new government that could do so. We don't have a functioning government. While Theresa May continues to botch Brexit, our public services are at breaking point and our communities suffer from dire under-investment," he said.
In a potentially significant development, earlier on Monday, the European Court of Justice ruled that the British government could unilaterally reverse its decision to leave the EU.
According to the tribunal, a member state has a right to revoke the notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU "as long as a withdrawal agreement has not entered into force or, if no such agreement has been concluded, for as long as the two-year period, and any possible extension, has not expired."
The decision will boost the hopes of campaigners for a second referendum on the withdrawal agreement, which Prime Minister Theresa May has categorically ruled out, despite widespread criticism from all sides.
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