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Brexit: No-one knows what will happen, says UK PM Theresa May
Striving to gain parliamentary support for the EU withdrawal agreement, UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday warned rebel MPs and critics that “no-one know what will happen” if the agreement is again voted down on March 12.
Striving to gain parliamentary support for the EU withdrawal agreement, UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday warned rebel MPs and critics that “no-one know what will happen” if the agreement is again voted down on March 12.
The agreement stitched by May’s team after prolonged talks with Brussels since the 2016 EU referendum was resoundingly rejected in the House of Commons in January. A revised version is to be put to vote on March 12, as the due departure date of March 29 draws near.
Speaking in Grimbsy in north England that voted to leave the EU, May said: “Next week, Members of Parliament in Westminster face a crucial choice. Whether to back the Brexit deal – or to reject it. Back it and the UK will leave the European Union”.
“Reject it and no-one knows what will happen. We may not leave the EU for many months. We may leave without the protections that the deal provides. We may never leave at all. The only certainty would be ongoing uncertainty.”
May’s words are likely to add to alarm and worse among business organiations that have been clamouring for certainty on life beyond Brexit. Many companies – including over 700 Indian companies – have held off investment and expansion plans until clarity on life beyond Brexit emerges.
May also had a message for EU leaders, who have been resisting giving way on the contentious issue of the Irish ‘backstop’ included in the agreement to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“But there are genuine concerns that there is no clear way out of the backstop if the future negotiations break down. I have taken those concerns to Brussels. I have explained them to every single EU leader. And we have put forward serious, detailed proposals to address them”.
She added: “We are both participants in this process. It is in the European interest for the UK to leave with a deal. We are working with them but the decisions that the European Union makes over the next few days will have a big impact on the outcome of the vote”.
“European leaders tell me they worry that time is running out, and that we only have one chance to get it right. My message to them is: now is the moment for us to act”.
