Good morning. Here’s your daily Politics Update:
December 11 date set for Parliament vote on Brexit deal
The government has set a date of 11th December for the ‘meaningful vote’ to take place, where MPs from all sides of the House of Commons will vote for or against Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Julian Smith, the chief whip, confirmed the date on Monday, whilst the prime minister was defending her deal to MPs in the House of Commons, in a two-hour-and-a-half long session which saw criticism from all sides, with very few positive comments from MPs.
Time will tell how MPs decide to respond to the last few weeks’ surprises, outrages and breakthroughs, and whether the prime minister’s deal passes its last hurdle in becoming law.
Those who have already resigned from the government in protest, or submitted letters of no-confidence against the PM, are likeliest to vote the deal down. It remains to be seen whether Theresa May will have the much-needed support of the DUP, or enough of the hardline Brexiteers in the Commons.
Highlights from May’s two-and-a-half-hour Commons grilling
Theresa May took questions on her Brexit deal for two-and-a-half hours in the House of Commons yesterday. It took over an hour for the first positive comment to be made. Here are some of the MPs’ views from Monday:
Jeremy Corbyn
“The prime minister says if we reject this deal, it will take us back to square one, the truth is under this government we have never got beyond square one.”
Corbyn concluded by saying: “This deal is not a plan for Britain’s future. So for the good of the nation, the House has very little choice but to reject this deal.”
SNP’s Philippa Whitford
Whitford criticised the PM for her remarks last week, where she claimed EU migrants would no longer be able to ‘jump the queue’ ahead of others. Whitford said her husband, a German national who has been a GP in Britain for over thirty years, felt “thrown away” after her comments.
This led to May backtracking on the comments, saying “I should not have used that language.”
Labour MP Chris Leslie:
“She isn’t seriously suggesting that her proposed deal will make the country better off than remaining in the European Union?”
Conservative MP Nicky Morgan
One of only a handful of positive MPs speaking out in the Commons on Monday, Mordan urged her colleagues to scrutinise the deal, but ultimately support it, saying: “What will cost us far more than £39 billion is a no-deal Brexit
Conservative MP Anna Sourbry:
“As it currently stands, the majority of honourable and right honourable members will not vote in favour of the prime minister’s deal,” Soubry said.
Trump weighs in on Brexit
US president Donald Trump has offered his opinion on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, saying it is a “great deal for the EU”, a subtle criticism of the deal May found herself defended in the Commons on Monday.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said: “I think we have to take a look at, seriously, whether or not the UK is allowed to trade. Because, you know, right now, if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us… I don’t think that the prime minister meant that. And, hopefully, she’ll be able to do something about that.”
A spokesman for No.10 Downing Street responded saying the president’s take on the Brexit deal was incorrect. The spokesman said: “The political declaration we have agreed with the EU is very clear we will have an independent trade policy so that the UK can sign trade deals with countries around the world – including with the US.”
