Theresa May faces MPs over embattled Brexit deal: Live updates
With PMQs over, Theresa May is giving a statement on her new Brexit deal.”We need to see Brexit through,” she says. “For all our division and disagreement, we believe in democracy,” she adds of lawmakers in the House of Commons.Recent votes show there is no majority for leaving without a deal or for scrapping Brexit, she adds, so the only way forward is leaving with a deal. Her previous three offerings, of course, have also failed in Parliament.May recaps the details of her new plan, announced in a speech in London yesterday. She takes a swipe at Labour, saying their stance on a closer customs union with the EU means it doesn’t support Britain having an independent trade policy. She turns to her offering of a vote on a second referendum — if MPs first approve her plan. “What would it say about our democracy if the biggest vote in our history were re-run,” she asks – adding that she recognizes the “strength of feeling” across the House from those who want to see another poll. Trying to get pro-Remain MPs to back her bill before they’re able to vote on a second referendum, of course, won’t be an easy sell.Jeremy Corbyn will respond to May’s statement, and she’s likely to take a series of tough questions from lawmakers on both sides after that.
