British Prime Minister Theresa May battled on Thursday (November 15) to save a draft divorce deal with the European Union after her Brexit secretary and other ministers quit in protest at an agreement they say will trap Britain in the bloc’s orbit for years.
In a speech to parliament, the prime minister showed little sign of backing down, where she warned lawmakers they now faced a stark decision. In the speech, May outlined the draft agreement, which she said was the “best deal” for the British people and in the UK’s national interest.
She acknowledged that hammering out an agreement with her cabinet was not “a comfortable process” but said those lawmakers who believed she could get a deal that did not include a backstop arrangement to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland was wrong.
Just over 12 hours after May announced that her team of top ministers had agreed to the terms of the draft agreement, Brexit minister Dominic Raab and work and pensions minister Esther McVey quit, saying they could not support it.
Their departure and the resignations of two junior ministers shakes May’s divided government and her Brexit strategy as well as affected the stocks market adversely, raising the prospect of Britain leaving the EU without a deal. Some lawmakers in London openly questioned whether May’s government will survive.
In parliament, lawmakers from her Conservative Party and the opposition parties took turns to rubbish the draft deal, a sign May faces an all but impossible task to get the agreement through the House of Commons.
Many criticised the draft deal, agreed with the EU on Tuesday, for making Britain a “vassal” state, beholden to the bloc’s rules even after leaving in March next year.
She added that lawmakers’ choice was clear: back her Brexit deal, leave with no deal, or have no Brexit at all.
Others said an agreement on the so-called backstop would tear Britain apart, leaving Northern Ireland all but in the EU’s single market.
Less than five months until Britain leaves the EU on March 29, the resignations put May’s Brexit strategy in doubt.
