Since wrapping up negotiations with the EU over the UK Brexit withdrawal treaty and its troublesome Irish Backstop, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted that her fractious parliament has three options: Her deal, no deal or no Brexit at all. And though recent reports have suggested that May might be on the verge of finally winning a majority for her supremely unpopular deal, she and her senior ministers are cranking up the pressure on intransigent Tories to give her deal the best possible chance of passing during a scheduled “meaningful vote” on Jan. 14. Including reminding MPs that if they don’t vote for her deal, they will risk canceling Brexit altogether.
And in the latest continuation of May’s “Project Fear”, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox warned during an interview with the Sunday Times this weekend that he sees a “50-50” chance of Brexit failing altogether if MPs reject May’s deal, and that it is “a matter of honour” for MPs to back May’s deal because failure would be “incendiary”.
Liam Fox
Fox’s comments follow reports that the Tory Whip Julian Smith has ratcheted up pressure on conservative MPs over the holiday.
As a reminder, here are some of the other “Project Fear” predictions made by May’s government:
Here are some of the Project Fear predictions the government has made:
- No clean drinking water.
- Food shortages.
- No insulin for diabetics.
- Shortages of medicine.
- No more sandwiches (yes, really).
- Risk of “super-gonorrhea” epidemic.
- Immediate recession.
- Every family thousands of pounds poorer.
- No planes allowed through other nations’ aerospace.
- The south of England becomes a carpark for trucks that were previously engaged in barrier-free trade between nations.
* * *
And though Fox would like to see more concessions from the EU, the fact remains that the public has spoken and MPs have an obligation to vote for the deal, given the “very small risk” that the backstop – the deal’s most controversial element – will take effect.
Parliament contracted out its sovereignty to the public by holding a referendum, Fox says. “So parliament cannot now, with any honour, renege on that result. Were they to do so, I think you would shatter the bond of trust between the electorate and parliament. And I think that would put us into unprecedented territory with unknowable consequences.”
The cabinet minister insists he would rather accept a deal that falls short than risk “no Brexit.” Although he would “like to see more” EU concessions on the Irish backstop – the insurance policy to keep an open border on the island of Ireland ” he adds: “If the choice is what I would regard as a very small risk of the backstop coming into existence or a much bigger risk of no Brexit, I’m very clear which way I would come down.”
The Times noted that May’s chief negotiator, Olly Robbins, has continued to hold talks with his EU counterparts over the past two weeks. Yet, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has repeatedly insisted that there will not be any more concessions, and that Parliament needs to “get your act together” and pass the deal.
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, today urged Britain to “get your act together”, and denied there was any EU agenda to stop Brexit.
Writing in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, he said: “I find it unreasonable that part of the British public seems to think that it’s entirely up to the EU to present a solution for all future British problems.”
“My call is: get your act together. And tell us what you want. Our proposals have been on the table for months.”
“One insinuates that our aim is to keep Britain in the EU with all means possible. But that’s not our intention,” said Juncker.
“We only want clarity about the future relationships. And we respect the result of the referendum.”
If May’s deal doesn’t pass on Jan. 14, reports suggest her plan is to run out the clock and leave MPs no option but to either pass her deal or delay Brexit or call for a second referendum. Various “Plan Bs” that have been kicked around in recent months, including an agreement that lays the groundwork for a “Norway” or “Canada” style trade deal, but these ideas are short on details and it remains unclear whether the EU would agree to renegotiate if May’s deal fails.
If the deal fails in its first vote, May will simply call for a second…and if that doesn’t work, we imagine she’ll keep bringing it back and bringing it back until she browbeats her MPs into agreeing.
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