Many in Westminster think it will take a miracle to save Theresa May’s Brexit deal — but this U.K. prime minister is still a believer.
As frustrated MPs were told they will not get the chance to vote on the deal until after Christmas, May insisted she would carry on with a negotiation with the EU that few believe will deliver results and which, as far as the other side is concerned, is not even taking place.
Opposition parties and many of her own MPs expressed disbelief that with barely 100 days left of the U.K.’s EU membership, and with no clear majority for her deal, May would not get the apparently doomed vote out of the way. They want the Brexit limbo to end so that MPs on all sides can start debating the alternatives.
In response, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn submitted a motion of no confidence in the prime minister — a largely symbolic move which, as currently worded, does not have the legal force to topple the government, but is the latest sign of the pressure on May from all sides.
Even former Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, a pro-EU Conservative who nevertheless is one of the minority indicating they will vote for May’s deal, questioned the wisdom of withholding the vote until the week of January 14.
“I honestly do not think our businesses, our employers and our constituents will understand why this house is going on holiday for two weeks when we should be having the meaningful vote this week,” she said in a debate following May’s statement to MPs on last week’s European Council summit.
A spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed on Monday that “no further meetings are foreseen” with U.K. officials following the statement agreed by EU leaders last week.
And yet, the prime minister persisted.
Determinedly or stubbornly, depending on your point of view, May said she would continue to push for further “assurances” from the EU on the most controversial element of her deal — the backstop insurance policy for avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Nigel Dodds, Westminster leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May’s government and is fiercely opposed to the backstop, spoke for many when he queried what “exactly and precisely … she is asking for” from the EU. He got a vague answer.