tv Victoria Derbyshire BBC News November 15, 2018 9:30am-11:01am GMT
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-- his possible departure yesterday. —— his possible departure was talked about yesterday but he stuck with the cabinet and he came out with theresa may yesterday, as you may have seen, and she said her cabinet was backing her and this morning much of that has changed. it is time now for the victoria derbyshire programme. more here soon. hello it's thursday, it's 9.30am, i'm victoria derbyshire. good morning. the brexit secretary dominic raab has just resigned — the first cabinet casualty since theresa may announced her draft withdrawal agreement last night and said the cabinet had backed it. i believe that what i ow to this country is to take decisions that are in the national interest, and i firmly believe, with my head and my heart, that this is a decision which is in the best interests of our entire united kingdom. after dominic raab quits, will other cabinet ministers follow? and all that spell disaster for mrs may's brexit deal? we've brought together voters from all over the country —
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to see what they think of mrs may's deal. asa as a businessman i believe for survival we have to do deals and to have a deal is better than to have no—del at all. have a deal is better than to have no-del at all. as an 18-year-old i have been cut out of this conversation and it is clear this deal does not work in the interests of young people. theresa may is leading us off a cliff into disaster. our brexit secretary did the honourable thing. and where you are — let me know this morning — what's your view of this deal? the first cabinet resignation after mrs may announced the withdrawal agreement draft. get in touch by email: victoria@bbc.co.uk use the hashtag #victorialive or there's fb or whatsapp. good morning. this morning — the first cabinet
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casualty since theresa may announced her draft brexit bill. and it is a big one. the brexit secretary dominic raab has resigned saying he ‘cannot in good conscience' support the terms proposed for the deal with the eu. he put this statement out on twitter explaining his reasons. he said: "the regulatory regime proposed for northern ireland "presents a very real threat to the integrity of the uk." and he also said he couldn't support an indefinite backstop — a last resort arrangement to prevent a hard border — where the eu holds a veto over the uk's ability to exit. let's go straight to our voters, first, reaction to theresa may losing a second brexit secretary within months, what is your
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reaction? we have a shepherd but not a sheep. mike magee want no members of the cabinet to resign? anybody else? she cannot hold the cabinet together. this deal doesn't please anyone and isn't working for the country. i believe that it is easy to promote yourself and to promote a cause, all of these guys resigning they are promoting themselves not they are promoting themselves not the national interest or the interests of britain as a whole. at the end of the day whoever was brexit secretary whether they support remain orderly would have to resign anyway to save their own careers down the line, it doesn't matter what the deal is. could it be another nationalist mp? let's go to norman smith, this is massive, isn't it? wherever we were after the
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cabinet meeting last night, mrs may seemed to have battled their way through, some grumbles but she had emerged with a deal still on course and then like an exocet from stage left, dominic raab. .. and then like an exocet from stage left, dominic raab... bang! you have two question whether mrs may will be able to push this deal through. dominic raab is notjust any cabinet minister, he's the brexit secretary, the man who is meant to be closing of this deal, and he's the second brexit secretary for mrs may to lose, it tells us, bluntly, that the person driving the brexit negotiations is mrs may and not the brexit secretary. they have gone along with it but both of them at the end of the day you have just not been able to continue with the sort of agreement that she seems to be trying to secure. and the other key thing is the pressure, now, on other brexiteer cabinet ministers to walk
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out, is enormous. i know that backbench brexiteers are now texting them, saying, dominic raab is gone, what are you going to do? is for the likes of kenny more .com esther mcvey, sajid javid, they are now under colossal pressure —— matuidi. if dominic raab ‘s resignation leased a cavalcade of ministers working out and the cabinet breaks up working out and the cabinet breaks up yourgoing into working out and the cabinet breaks up your going into the most steam ahead political crisis, never mind the brexit deal beginning to fall apart. this is a complete and utter turnaround in the space of 2a hours from last night, when mrs may seemed to be getting on with it, until now. she is really on the ropes. we were told that around ten ministers raised objections in that five—hour meeting, then we saw mrs may on the down this big steps saying that the cabinet packet, so what has happened
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overnight? -- the cabinet back eight. a lot of them came out and thinking, should i, shouldn't i? it is an enormous step notjust to quit the cabinet but at this moment, those of them who leave, they know full well that they are plunging the government into potential crisis. they may pave the way for a no—deal brexit. these are massive, massive sta kes. brexit. these are massive, massive stakes. so it is not something anyone is going to do lightly and perhaps the immediate aftermath of a cabinet meeting they might have wa nted cabinet meeting they might have wanted to go home, to alter their wife, husband, think about it, because it is such an enormous step —— to talk to their wife or husband. dominic raab is one of those expressly described in the cabinet, he has thought about it overnight and has stored, you know what? i can't do it even though the ramifications of what i'm about to
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do our humongous. can be briefly talk about dominic raab's reasons? that the regulatory regime for northern ireland presents a real threat to the integrity of the uk. northern ireland presents a real threat to the integrity of the uki know that people are probably bored to death of talk about the backstop but it has become a symbol, a flash point for mrs may's brexit deal. it is about how close we are, how close we remain to the eu, and how much power they will continue to hold over us, power they will continue to hold over us, $0 power they will continue to hold over us, so this will stick by the single market rules and regulations while the rest of the uk will not, so while the rest of the uk will not, so this means our border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, which threatens the integrity of
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the uk. unacceptably. secondly, there is no get out mechanism. we wa nt to there is no get out mechanism. we want to end this backstop arrangement where we, as the uk, remain ina arrangement where we, as the uk, remain in a sort of customs arrangements. basically, we have to strike a deal with the eu, it will go to an arbitration mechanism on which sit two brits, two eu type —— types and two independent people. and in other words, we have to ask their permission. from his point of view, that means that we are trapped. we cannot, of ourselves, get out of this arrangement. for those two reasons, this means that the backstop means that this deal binds us into the eu for ever and the day, and that is unacceptable. you have spoken about some things in the withdrawal agreement, can you give us a list so that people know
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what is in it? we will talk about it with the voters in the next hour. metz with the voters in the next hour. m etz ta ke with the voters in the next hour. metz take trade, where the deal proposes keeping close ties. we are going to aim for the closest possible regulatory and customs ties, and it is hoped that by the end of the end of it, the city will have an agreement that is basically keeping close ties for minimal disruption to trade. northern ireland, we have spoken about the backstop ireland, we have spoken about the ba cksto p wow ireland, we have spoken about the backstop wow already. as i said, the two key issues are northern ireland having to abide by existing single market rules and regulations and no easy exit mechanism for the uk from the backstop. citizens' rights, a huge issue, they will be protected for existing eu citizens, they will
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have the right to romania, to work, enjoy benefits and access services like the nhs and schools —— to remain here, and all will change, there will be new immigration rules in which eu citizens will be treated the same as citizens from elsewhere in the world. lastly, the financial settlement, the money. the withdrawal agreement says that we will pay our dues, pay our bills, and that is now estimated at somewhere between a0 billion and a5 billion euros. but, once we leave in december 2020, then we will no longer be paying significant sums to the eu. are still expecting mrs may to address the commons at about half past ten? we certainly are. you wonder who will be sitting on the front bench with her. we will be looking to see who has turned up and
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who has not, because they may be preparing their resignation statements. you will be back with as if that happens, thank you very much, norman. we've got an audience of voters from all over the country. swa nsea, swansea, belfast, lowestoft, liverpool and london and a balance between people who voted leave and remain. 0wen smith, as a politician, your direction to the resignation of the brexit secretary? it tells you only need to know about this deal, the person who helped negotiate it and ostensibly presented it to the cabinet yesterday has resigned this morning. an extraordinary state of affairs. the key thing we need to be on is not the terribly exciting news
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about the government failing, it is what this says about the deal, because that is what will matter in the long term for the people in this audience and generations to come, andi audience and generations to come, and i think people need to remember from theresa may's extraordinary statement last night that she conceded it isn't a choice between no—del and this deal, it is between no—del, this deal and not doing brexit. that is the thing we need to focus on. if she gets any dignity out of this it is about going back to the people and see whether they wa nt to the people and see whether they want this deal. richard, i delighted with what dominic raab has done this morning? is the inevitable consequence of number ten putting forward the worst deal ever in history well you agree to pay at least £39 billion for nothing at all. what is really important, it shows that she has lost two brexit
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secretaries, because they were not negotiating the detail, they were carrying the briefcase of ollie robbins in number ten. most of the country has no idea who he is. the chief civil servant in number ten negotiating for the prime minister, what's the point of adding a brexit secretary if they are not responsible for negotiations? do you expect more resignations? yes. i would love to ask a conservative mp that, we're hanging on for him. part of the reason that dominic raab has resigned is opportunism, he has decided he wants to be conservative party leader at some point and does not want to be chained to a deal that he sees as going down, but there is no majority for this deal. there was an unholy alliance between people like me who have campaigned fra people's vote and those on the right wing of the tory party, brexiteers. nobody thinks this is a good deal. from watching closely,
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what has been happening in the past 2a hours, who is expecting more resignations from mrs may's top team? resignations from mrs may's top team ? they have resignations from mrs may's top team? they have clearly got the point where the brexit they had in mind was not working for them they expected. i voted remain myself, i was the thought that up until the last few weeks it was undemocratic to ask for another vote but if it is in sucha to ask for another vote but if it is in such a position where half of the cabinet is involved in brexit and is quitting i don't see how you can get a good deal out of this in the end. anyone else expecting more resignations? it is falling apart, these politicians are not equipped to deal with this, i think we have to deal with this, i think we have to go back to the people. it may well be an option, as i mentioned. i don't think there's a possible way
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for them to go through this, the only way to resolve the conflict is to give the people a say once more. i think the people have already had a vote in 2016 and they voted... we are not going to spend one hour having a row about a second referendum but i'm happy for you to disagree right now. this was made clear by both the league and remain campaign is, we were leaving the customs union and single market. both parties stood on that on a general election and if that wasn't enough, in the prime minister's lancaster house speech she reiterated the point about leaving the customs union, so why has she come to the country, hold on, we will be remaining in a customs arrangement with the european union. that is completely and utterly u na cce pta ble that is completely and utterly unacceptable and the prime minister has shown, she has humiliated our
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country, and in the eu, they are laughing at us. the best thing for someone laughing at us. the best thing for someone to resign is theresa may, then we will have no more resignations. if she resigns then no one else has got to resign. let me bring in anne—marie morris, can you describe to voters what you have done with regard to theresa may's edition? for me the most important thing for any business, public or private sector, is leadership and the real leader at this time, i have put in my letter asking for a vote of no—confidence. i'm not alone and idoit of no—confidence. i'm not alone and i do it with a heavy heart, but now it is the country that matters more than anything else, and there is somebody else in your studio who has identified the deal was brexit, to leave the single market and customs union and what was being offered, twice, now, is a deal that keeps is very much in the customs union and
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in the eu, with, the worst possible deal. you have written a letter hoping to trigger a vote of no—confidence in the british prime your leader? a8 letters are needed, i'm going to ask you about the numbers, how many of your colleagues have done the same? many have said to me that is exactly what they have done. i believe that we have got to the a8,... done. i believe that we have got to the 48,... 48 done. i believe that we have got to the 48, . .. 48 conservative done. i believe that we have got to the 48,... 48 conservative mps have put pen to paper or type the e—mail. it would be conditional. what they have done is put in letters conditional upon confirmation, so for those mps now is a critical moment. they have to decide now was the time or they will wait until the deal goes to parliament when, frankly, all of us agree that it will fall. if it gets to a no—confidence vote, would you have the numbers, you would vote down the
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prime minister? when you say a vote of no confidence there rob two, remember, one is within the conservative party, getting a8 votes, then you have to have a selection process and if teresa gets more than half of the votes then she stays, assuming you're talking about that the answer is yes, and the second is thatjeremy corbyn is at some point going to put in a vote of no—confidence in the house, and that ido no—confidence in the house, and that i do not believe will pass, every conservative will vote against that as will the dup, i believe. what are you trying to achieve by getting rid of your prime minister? brexit, i'm trying to deliver for the british people and my leave supporting constituents. who do you want to takeover? who do you think we do a betterjob and would they have to start again? what would that involve ? start again? what would that involve? given where we are, we have triggered article 50, so we are out on the 29th of march, come what may,
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u nless on the 29th of march, come what may, unless something else is in place, i don't think this deal will be in place, there's no time for another deal, we will be coming out in my view on wto tones, they will be absolutely fine, i sit on the public accou nts absolutely fine, i sit on the public accounts committee, was something is not as ready as they should be, plenty progress has been made. it is not going to be the catastrophic event that many say it is and by working together we can actually deliver brexit, go to the wto and on the other side, there may be a canada plus plus on the other side of the 29th of march next year, we will be in a much stronger position. there are some business people here, i'd be grateful if you could listen to what they say to what you have just said. orderly withdrawal or chaos, and anne—marie with respect is not a business person, she does not understand, jobs are involved, traders involved, people will be
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queueing for hours, prices and inflation will rise, we will face a disaster. there speaks a business person, anne—marie morris, who has been doing deals for decades. and so have i, i have spent a lot of time working in business so i know quite a bit about business. there will be chaos. no, there will not be chaos. your colleagues in the media and spin doctors want to make sure that we...|am spin doctors want to make sure that we... i am putting people like joe johnson. dominic raab, for example, hadn't appreciated the levels of trade between dover and calais. jo johnson talks about lorry parks on the m25 if there was no—del. johnson talks about lorry parks on the m25 if there was no-del. jo johnson has got his constituents to be concerned about, and he wants a second vote, so his position is com pletely second vote, so his position is completely different. as far as dominick is concerned the quote you made was ashley taken out of context. made was ashley taken out of
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co ntext. — — made was ashley taken out of context. —— actually taken out of. made was ashley taken out of context. —— actually taken out oflj don't have any confidence in anything the conservative party says now because everything they've done over the last two years has fallen apart, they cannot agree with themselves and i hope the main political parties that we have in the uk actually work together for months and start to give working people, who cannot afford rents, who haven'tjobs, working people, who cannot afford rents, who haven't jobs, working in people, who cannot afford rents, who haven'tjobs, working in the gig economy, give them some hope about the future because the economy is notjust the future because the economy is not just about business the future because the economy is notjust about business but the future because the economy is not just about business but about people. absolutely. this is the thing that is lost in this discussion, it is all business folk, but what is the impact on people? that has not even been postponed. it is shocking, because the number of people who have livelihoods from the eu, they don't have any guarantees of what their economic livelihoods
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are going to be, they have no idea. i've worked for a european company andi i've worked for a european company and i voted out, and i cannot believe the lack of honesty and integrity in politicians today. they fail to stand integrity in politicians today. they failto stand up integrity in politicians today. they fail to stand up and have the courage of their convictions. they all know that this is a bad deal and it's wrong. and this will be the nail in the conservative party's coffin because it will turn of a5% of the politic —— population who do not trust politicians and that is going to go up tomorrow. anne-marie morris, you expect more cabinet resignations, what are you hearing? and go into the house in a few moments, i have onlyjust heard about dominick raabe, i would expect more over the next week. but it is not next smack about dominic raab. i
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think others will leave, as well as dominic because for one minister to go is one thing, for a number to go is something else so there would have to be, and i suspect there is, discussion going on between these individuals about how to manage the process in a way that gets us moving forward faster into a direction that will deliver brexit and bring the unity which wilairot. simon, you we re unity which wilairot. simon, you were and remain voting conservative mp and you supported mrs may's agreement. what do you say to cabinet colleagues who might be resigning now? at ask yourself this question, you are a minister, pay to resolve difficult problems, make difficult decisions on behalf of ordinary people and party members, people who voted against you, also. think hard about running away from
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the difficult decisions and i'm slightly old —fashioned, now the difficult decisions and i'm slightly old—fashioned, now is a time for people to be calm, competent and professional. and just walking away from this problem doesn't resolve anything. it doesn't help either of the interest groups in this room one little bit. i've heard a few comments since i come in and the thing that strikes me a strange is that in the end it is about parliamentary numbers, 650 divided by two, plus one. if you can get that number, you win this particular battle and so we can dream of the like about the brexit that he wanted and believed in but u nless we that he wanted and believed in but unless we can get it through parliament, it is not going to happen. this is not going to go through parliament, is it? the idea that no—del will be the default position at we end up with, that is not true, either. parliament has made it very clear that it will use every device in the book to prevent
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and ideal outcome so we have this crazy situation where brexit in any form, now hangs by the narrowest of threads and you have to say be careful what you wish for, and that applies now, because we are heading for a position where we lose everything and end up withjeremy corbyn as prime minister and that isn't what corbyn as prime minister and that isn'twhat17.a million people wanted. you are saying that the worst deal in history is better than no—del. that is simply not the case. in the world of business you go into negotiations and you know that you must be prepared to walk away and if you're not, you end up getting a bad deal, and that is what has happened. of course we can leave on the 29th of march. and we can go to wto rules because that is what most other countries in the developed world operate under. it would not billions of pounds of gdp, and people in this
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room... it is not true as richard has employed a moment ago that the alternative is no—del. has employed a moment ago that the alternative is no-del. no-del is not going to pass parliament because mps of all colours understand that it would be disastrous for our voters in every constituency to go down that route. article 50 can be revoked, the man you wrote it said so, so it is not clear that he would leave next march, we can extend the deadline and go one step further and we good revoked article 50 and have another vote. anne-marie morris thank you very much for your time this morning. thank you for talking to voters. no other government will be able to get a better deal, so please, please me when added to the future together, this text says, another says, no—del is best deal.
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philip says that even though brexit extremists are realising that brexit is the impossible dream. another says we should back theresa may's deal because it is not the only deal, it is not that bad, things could be a lot worse, it is the art of the possible and damage limitation, there was no such thing as certainty in the current global climate, we need the settlement. whoever you are amicably, let us know your views. you can get in touch through e—mail, and twitter. many comments coming in. let's go round people who have not had a chance to speak so far. in the conservative manifesto the government said it would get the best dealfor government said it would get the best deal for the country so that means that no—del wasn't even an option that the government advertise to the people, it would be irresponsible for the government to do its best to present a deal then
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to say, you can have this all you can have nothing although be promised you a deal. didn't it say in the manifesto about leaving the common market on march the 19? in the manifesto about leaving the common market on march the 197m in the manifesto about leaving the common market on march the 19? it is a government responsibility to find a government responsibility to find a way to do that responsibly. that then is not brexit. if you look at what he has said he has said do not run away from the hard questions. i think theresa may and this gentleman are running away from the hard questions, which is, to be an act brexit, and theresa may is not with what she has put on the table, she is running away from brexit. this is not brexit, it is anti—democratic not brexit, it is anti—democratic not to enact brexit in this country. whatever you come up with has to get a parliamentary majority, whoever that conservative leader is has to have a parliamentary majority. the brexit secretary has resigned. don't speak over each other, no one can
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hear. this was about the uk parliament flexing its muscles. the uk parliament will vote and what it has made clear is that it does not like many of the options. she's handing overour like many of the options. she's handing over our sovereignty. yes, she is. come back to you. if you can a nswer she is. come back to you. if you can answer this, or lovers will be grateful, how do you get your deal to get 650 divided by two plus one through the house. i would go back with a pro—brexit person who is actually going to organise a pro—brexit situation. you have got borisjohnson, you have got good people in that cabinet who can do the job. what you are offering is not brexit. the people of this country have voted to take back control and were handing it right back. would it be as simple as getting someone like borisjohnson to go to brussels and start again? it is never going to be simple. no
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brexiteer said it would be simple. why would they give any more concessions to boris johnson? we're not asking, we are taking. this is what we voted, fair boris johnson to go overthe... what we voted, fair boris johnson to go over the. .. this idea that britain can have what we don't... hang on, breaking news, breaking news, the work and pensions secretary esther mcvey is resigning! applause reaction, reaction? the career politicians... they are resigning first. there are doing the right thing for their country. not necessarily. the
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thing is that theresa may is trying to get a deal for us. whether or not you agree the way she is doing it, it should not be at all costs because that would not be for the benefit of the country. theresa may is trying to make the best of not great situation. i want reaction to the fact that the second cabinet minister has resigned within an hour. two per hour at this rate.|j think this gentleman made a really good point about that. cabinet resignations are irresponsible but worse, they don't change anything, and it is not about doing the right thing for the country. it is actually the wrong thing for the country. and it is notjust about conservative activists or conservative activists or conservative members or conservative voters. this is about the whole country. it pleases absolutely nobody. the only people laughing other people in brussels. nobody. the only people laughing other people in brusselslj nobody. the only people laughing other people in brussels. i will just say once more don't speak over
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each other because nobody can hear. all those people who are resigning are doing is bringing jeremy corbyn close to number 10 and believe you me, went to get them to number 10, there will be unemployment, inflation and higher taxes and people will disappear from this country, taking businesses away. there is a gentleman laughing at that. if you want to go from point a to point b, you need plan b in place, and then we had a brexit referendum, and the government did not have a plan b, and that was proven when the present prime minister resigned after the leave vote won. now we have gone to the eu and we have come back with this rotten deal, and still we don't have a plan b. the options we are getting are that you will accept this rotten deal or we will have no deal, but has the government tried to guide
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the country if it goes back to world trade organisation deals? thank you. i will take your point in a moment but i want to remind viewers what has happened. at just but i want to remind viewers what has happened. atjust after ten o'clock on bbc two and bbc news, we know that esther mcvey, the work and pensions secretary, has resigned. an hour ago, the brexit secretary, dominic raab, resigned. and possibly an hourorso dominic raab, resigned. and possibly an hour or so before that, junior northern ireland also resigned. we will speak to norman smith injust a moment. —— the junior will speak to norman smith injust a moment. —— thejunior northern ireland minister also resigned. norman smith will give us some analysis as to why so many people are resigning. he isjust getting the details from esther mcvey‘s resignation letter. we have got
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people here from glasgow, lowestoft, liverpool and london and belfast and now norman is with us. my goodness! esther mcvey goes, and that could be no surprise because she is thought to be one of those who is most argumentative, most unhappy with the pm at the cabinet yesterday, and some suggest she got into an argy—bargy with the chief whip and she demanded a vote. anyway, she has gone. similar reasons to dominic raab. she said in her resignation letter, look, the deal you are doing does not deliver on the referendum, and she cites the issue of taking back control. her fear, and she cites the issue of taking back control. herfear, like dominic raab's fear, is that the backstop deal with northern ireland means we are out of control and we don't have are out of control and we don't have a grip on when we can leave the temporary customs arrangement, and there is a danger of northern ireland being treated separately. but what happens next? it seems to
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me that all the brexiteers are looking at each other thinking dominic raab has gone and esther mcvey has gone so what am i doing in the cabinet? i am told there is a conference call among members of the european research group, the hardline brexiteers fronted byjacob rees—mogg, and they are having a conference call now, where they will be discussing what we do now. and i suspect that top of their questions will be do we press the nuclear button and start firing in those letters to graham brady, the chairman of the 22, demanding a vote of confidence last night and some of them thought it wasn't a good idea because actually theresa may could win which would strengthen her position. maybe that dynamic has now changed and maybe they take the view that she can't go on. she has lost another brexit secretary and she seemed to be haemorrhaging ministers potentially and maybe it is game
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over and it is time to mount that leadership challenge. i called graham brady and he said he can't talk at the moment. he is the top man in the grey suit. he is the head of the tory backbenches committee. and he is the one to whom mps have to send in a letter saying they would like a leadership contest. in the party has always said no. there are a8 letters required, 15% of the parliamentary party, and until they get to that number, you can't have a leadership contest. but brexiteers are adamant that they have the numbers and if they want to do it, they can do it. if the resignations continuity from mrs may's top team, is she going to hang on or will she say she has done what she could? that is only something that she can answer, to be honest. put it this way, her task becomes so much harder. we already know there is a huge groundswell of unease on the
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backbenches about the deal. the opposition parties seemed lined up to oppose it and the dup allies are unhappy and remainers are unhappy. the one thing she seems to have got was the cabinet, which was a big win last night, and the view was she has got the cabinet so maybe she can get some got the cabinet so maybe she can get some momentum going and maybe try to bring it back together. with the cabinet beginning to fracture, that becomes really hard. my impression is that mrs may is a pretty tough cookie. she will not bottle easily andi cookie. she will not bottle easily and i suspect her first instinct will be damage limitation. she will express regret that dominic raab has gone and esther mcvey, bluntly, doesn't matter so much. the real worry is if dominic raab's resignation then forces out key figures like sajid javid, for example. if he was to walk, we would lose the home secretary, and itjust
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gets very difficult. this is a very fluid situation and everybody here is running around, just waiting to see is running around, just waiting to see what happens next. the incredible thing about it is that mrs may will be in the commons on herfeetin mrs may will be in the commons on her feet in about 20 minutes. as we said before, you just wonder who will be sitting alongside her. will those big players be ready to sit alongside her and basically row in behind her and send out a sort of visual message to the rest of the party that we are going to back the pm? orwill party that we are going to back the pm? or will they be tactfully absent, perhaps sending out a preliminary sign that they might also quit? we will be looking out for the home secretary, the foreign secretary and so on. thank you, norman, for the moment. you will be back with us if there any more resignations. i want to put this to our voters from the country. if all of this leads to a leadership contest within the conservative party over the coming weeks and
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months, how would you view that?|j months, how would you view that?” don't think it really instils confidence, to not have a majority, to have the dup falling apart with the agreement they had, and then to have an election in which the people do not have a say on trying to take as out of the eu, i don't think that is mandate and it is not responsible. this is hypothetical, but if there was a leadership contest right now when we are weeks away from leaving the eu, how would you view that? although we are leaving the eu, this isjust a technical agreement we are talking about. i am asking you specifically... i know. this is not the end of discussions with the eu. this isjust the end of the beginning. now we have got to negotiate for another 20 months with the eu on the final agreement. the deal. if we think this is a bad deal, the worst is yet to come because basically everything in the backstop will not be unnegotiated by
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the eu so everything that is bad about this deal will be increasingly bad as we go to the second negotiations. would you welcome a leadership contest?” negotiations. would you welcome a leadership contest? i was going to say that if mrs may has taken us to the point of getting a hobson is choice, take it or nothing, and that is where we are, hobson's choice, and that is what the cabinet was presented with, hobson's choice, through indifference, inaction and incompetence by mrs may and 13. you cannot have may going into the second stage of negotiation because she has not handled the first terribly well. so you would be all right with a leadership contest? oh, yes. i think as cabinet ministers resign, theresa may will lose all credibility. i think she just needs to gather all of them and communicate more. this looks like chaos. i think the chaos in the
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party will be inviting, more divided, it will be a disaster for great britain. we can't change horses in the middle of the negotiation. she has done a great job and she has worked very hard to get us to this deal where she is taking into account the aspirations of those people who want to remain. she took control of the boardroom and that is the most important point, we can control the border. and at the same time we can do business with europe. where are the alternatives? we have all these great leader is angling for position. where is the 600 page plan? iam position. where is the 600 page plan? i am an immigration lawyer and iam no plan? i am an immigration lawyer and i am no fan of theresa may. she helped to create this environment of anti—immigrantfeeling helped to create this environment of anti—immigrant feeling with the go home fans and windrush, all on her watch. fair play, she has put this deal on a table whether we like it
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or not but where is the alternative? where is jacob rees—mogg's 600 page plan and boris's 600 page plan? we are listening to the mps using words like i believe, if, but, maybe. as a working class person and there are many working—class people watching this show, do you want to base your whole life on somebody who is well set up in life on their beliefs of your future, if, but set up in life on their beliefs of yourfuture, if, butand set up in life on their beliefs of yourfuture, if, but and maybe? this whole thing has been a gamble and we have been lied to and this is what you get if we base something on lies. we haven't been lied to. i agree with that. all the talk of wt0 laws and no deal will harm so many working people in this country. it was not an offer in the general election and it was not an offer in the referendum and we need to stop talking about no—deal brexit because it is not good for anyone in the country. with the ideal of democracy, direct democracy, you have got to know what you are voting for and what the outcomes will be
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and nobody knew what the deal would be and what the terms would be and nobody knew what would be negotiated. i knew, thank you! how do you know what i knew? you can't read my mind. theresa may had not gone to the eu yet. i knew exactly what i was doing. i am going to bring in mr robertson, conservative mp and member of the european research group, the group of backbench conservative mps who really wa nt backbench conservative mps who really want brexit and a hard brexit. thank you for talking to us. some voters alongside us in the studio applauded when i gave them the news that the work and pensions secretary had resigned. how do you react? i think it is really a terrible situation. we have not only got the work and pensions secretary resigning but also the brexit secretary resigning, and he is the second brexit secretary that the prime minister has lost in a few
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months, simply because of the proposals that she has made. interestingly, earlier than all of this, we had shari jawara resigning, the northern ireland minister, which is interesting because part of his reason was the treatment of northern ireland and the dup are very upset about proposals to. —— shailesh vara. what have we been doing the two yea rs ? vara. what have we been doing the two years? can we negotiate free—trade agreement with the european union? what have we been doing for two years? that is what we should have been concentrating on. you sound like you are hand—wringing about the situation but it is because of backbenchers like yourself and your colleagues in that group who have been putting pressure on cabinet ministers. the group should not be given any greater status than a collection of people who get together to discuss these issues. there are very many groups in parliament doing the same thing. what we want to see if the prime
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minister being true to her word that brexit means brexit and we are leaving the customs union and the single market and all these things, leaving the jurisdiction of the european court of justice, leaving the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice, that we can forge trade deals across the world. she said all these things and all we're asking her to do is stick to what you said 20 took over as leader and at lancaster house, —— what she said when she took over as leader, and with the chequers proposal. it is not people like me who have made her change her mind. she has drifted the other way, away from things i have wanted, so you can't blame me for this. were waiting for theresa may to exit number ten to go to the house of commons. what sort of reception do you think she will get this morning i'm not looking to make life difficult for her, but she has to realise that the proposals she is making are reuniting the
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conservative party against her hand against the proposals. and that cannot be good, that is not good leadership. do you want oberon, to be clear, back to square one, to use her words from last night —— do you wa nt her words from last night —— do you want hergraham? her words from last night —— do you want her graham? i wrote to sir graham brady requesting that there bea graham brady requesting that there be a vote of no—confidence in theresa may as leader a few months ago. that was the opportunity i had. that letter is still live, because for many months i was prepared to negotiate with the european union and come up with some sort of deal. when she came out with the chequers proposals it was obvious she was taking a different route to the one she herself had previously set out, andi she herself had previously set out, and i thought that was unacceptable and i thought that was unacceptable andi and i thought that was unacceptable and i didn't go public at the time because i hope against all hope she might change your mind, there were a couple of resignations, i thought that might knock some sense... sorry
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about that, oh, no, he's back with us! last night, has become unacceptable. we are tied into a customs union that unilaterally we could not leave and that is a worse position than we were in previously. at least we could trigger article 50 and leave. there's nothing to say that we can leave unilaterally, it says the opposite of that, the customs union, and that is com pletely customs union, and that is completely unacceptable. thank you, laurence robertson revealing to us this morning that he wrote a letter to the man on the backbench conservative committee, and has now triggered it, if you like, hoping to triggered it, if you like, hoping to trigger a no—confidence vote in the prime minister and also a leadership contest, simon hart, do you think the conservative party would be thanked for that? this looks really self—indulgent —— self—indulgent, if i was self—indulgent —— self—indulgent, if iwas an self—indulgent —— self—indulgent, if i was an employer and my constituency looking at this,
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worried about by future, investment, markets, and i'm looking at the conservative party beating itself up in this self—indulgent way i would agree with some of the expressions mentioned here, of utter dismay. it is about procedure as far as i'm concerned. we can argue all day about whether it is borisjohnson dominic raab who should take over from theresa may but the fact of the matter is we have a majority of 11, of which ten are the dup, and on one side you have got 20, 30 remain rebels who promised the prime minister they will vote down anything that looks like a hard brexit and on the other side you have brexit rebels who will vote on the prime minister if he does anything which looks like a soft brexit, so she has no room for manoeuvre. and if you say that then we willjust default to nodal brexit in march next year, you have combined ranks of labour, snp, the
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opposition, cloud cymru, saying that, we never voted for that. we are going to lose everything on the order of perfection, here, there's a real danger. who agrees with simon hart that it looks like the conservative party are going mad?m is like the charge of the light brigade, they have lost all sense of direction. they haven't had a leader for a long time and they have had huge problems. the problem with this is the people in this country being shown with what brexit is about, as the health service, as a nurse, getting into the deep part of the flu pandemic that is going to hit britain in the next few months, we have a5,000 nurses... vacancies and european nurses are leading this country by the boatload. you will
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see country by the boatload. you will see brexit hit you. these are the same old arguments. 13% of foreign workers work on the nhs, that means 86% are british—born. in 2016, let me finish, in 2016, 2015, 86,000 british workers applied for grants to work in the national health service, do you know how much funding they got, absolutely zero. you are wrong, so. i'm going to pause, ladies and gents, well building up to half past ten when we are expecting the prime minister to address the commons. she will be leaving number ten any moment now. simon hart, if you need to go, please do. thank you, i think i probably ought to be there! owen smith has already left. hang on. ok. another resignation, a junior brexit
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minister. suella braverman. we can speak to the justice secretary minister. suella braverman. we can speak to thejustice secretary rory stewart, you' re speak to thejustice secretary rory stewart, you're not considering resigning, are you? i'm not considering resigning and we need to be calm. this is a deal that gives control over immigration and at the same time provides unimpeded access for goods to the single market which is vital to our economy. how do you react to the four resignations we have had so far today? it is dangerous, damaging, and they've made a mistake. this is a deal which is very sensible, which delivers what brexiteers voted for and at the same time protect our economy, so it reassures same time protect our economy, so it reassures remainers same time protect our economy, so it reassures remainers worried about the economy added provides brexiteers above all with control over immigration. if there are more,
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what does that mean for mrs may's position? resignations are was risky for a prime minister but my belief is this is a good dealfor the country and that is what the prime minister believes also. these people are missing the basic point which is the alternatives are either a no plan, no—del crash out, which will be catastrophic for everything, or an attempt to try to redo the entire referendum which will also be catastrophic. this is a sensible, practical compromise and people need to calm down and look at this text properly. is that your message to your party? this is a long document. i was your party? this is a long document. iwas up your party? this is a long document. i was up half the night reading it, like i'm sure that you were, it is full of subclauses and subclauses, but it basically protects the united kingdom, protects the car industry, automobile industry, we have got control on immigration, we will not be paying billions of pounds, we are
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leaving this common fisheries policy and common agricultural policy, not any european army, these are things brexiteers would have been delighted to have, it is a great achievement by the prime minister and the fact that she has managed to deliver it without economic meltdown and keeping access on goods is fantastic. but you have had several ministerial colleagues up all night reading it and they feel that they cannot continue sitting around the cabinet table so they have had to go. with great respect the brexit secretary had already read that document, i certainly hope he had before the early hours of the morning, he negotiated it. this document reflects, i'm sorry, i'm going to use bad words, but a hell ofa going to use bad words, but a hell of a lot of work. people thought that the europeans would not give was this. people said europe will not allow us to cherry pick and have control over borders and at the same time half of all single market access for industrial goods. she has succeeded in doing this. this is a
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huge achievement. therefore, people should calm down and this is something that 80% of the british people could be very proud of added asa people could be very proud of added as a pity that a minority of mps... i don't know if you can hear the reaction from voters in our studio who have caught you delusional and laughed at what you said. do you have a moment or two to listen to them? who have a moment or two to listen to them ? who use have a moment or two to listen to them? who use the word delusional? talk to the justice minister. with the greatest of respect you are completely and utterly wrong, this isa completely and utterly wrong, this is a deal that pleases no one. you stood in a manifesto in 2017 which you were elected upon which said we would leave the customs union. this customs arrangement does not fall for that. you, sir, customs arrangement does not fall forthat. you, sir, have broken your promise and lie to the british people, as has the prime minister and if you think this is an a cce pta ble and if you think this is an acceptable way and if you think this is an acce pta ble way forward and if you think this is an acceptable way forward then you are absolutely finished at the polls.
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let me try to come back to this. the first thing is, this isn't anything other than a discussion about a backstop. this is not the long—term relationship between britain and the eu. the prime minister is very clear, i'm very clear, the eu is very clear, there is no way that britain ended long—term with the main customs union, and why is that? because it doesn't work for the eu, the eu would not want that any more than britain does. this has been talked completely out of proportion. all that has been achieved in this negotiation is that, while we negotiate, if we are put into your backstop, there is clarity that we can continue to sell goods and control our borders on immigration. that is a huge achievement and a great basis for a pitcher negotiation. nobody wants us to get stuck in the customs union, and the eu doesn't want that, either. look at the race talking to us, prescribing his opinion, assuming it is all about immigration but we know what it was all about, about taking
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back control, which this deal fundamentally does not give. this gentleman is presuming what we believe, and he's applying it to us, he's not listening to us, he's telling us what to think. it is very difficult in politics, in a sense, for a democratic country, there are going to be a5 million different views. we are never going to be able to get everybody‘s view. views. we are never going to be able to get everybody's view. you were given the demands that the british public gave to you, which you have not followed through on. you must do that one. let's try to come back to that. there was a referendum and the choice was to leave the european union. we have left the european union. we have left the european union. we have not. that is what article 50 was about. we are leaving the european union. this is at the co re the european union. this is at the core of this. it was about taking back control... and we are taking
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back control... and we are taking back control, on immigration, we are leaving the common fisheries policy, we are leaving the common agricultural policy, we are leaving all the restrictions that would be around our services. this is a huge amount of progress. i don't know what the idea is that you had that how you thought trade deals was going to work but this is a huge achievement. of course it is not going to be possible to meet the demands of a5 million individual people, but this is a sensible, pragmatic deal that means a great deal of those demands. and going to let you go, but before you do, another resignation, anne—marie trevelya n, another resignation, anne—marie trevelyan, conservative mp for berwick—upon—tweed. she says, it is with sadness that i have submitted my letter of resignation as pps, it has been a joy and a privilege to have served in defence and in education. i'm sorry these people feel like this but i think we need to ta ke feel like this but i think we need to take a bit of time to read this
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document and talk it through and talk through the practical choices here, because the alternative that is being presented is a no—del, no plan brexit that would be hugely damaging for the automobile industry and fora damaging for the automobile industry and for a lot of people in the united kingdom. so we need to be practical, cautious and sensible at this moment. thank you for your time, rory stewart, justice minister, on his way to the commons. we expect the prime minister at any point in the next few minutes to stand up in the commons and deliver her statement. and you can watch that live on bbc news and on bbc two. ministers are resigning over this view of all—or—nothing sovereignty, part of the magic of the eu is that the pool sovereignty to make decisions that benefit i love you, it is not an all—or—nothing state, and in the conservative party barometer of people who like mr stewart and mr
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may two although they are not very popular right now, there are at least trying to answer the questions. the brexiteers don't have a nswe rs questions. the brexiteers don't have a nswers to questions. the brexiteers don't have answers to these questions. how deluded customs union without... ba cca deluded customs union without... bacca —— how to leave the customs union. we'vejust bacca —— how to leave the customs union. we've just had a minister say that he is only reading the document now having sat at the cabinet table and given approval to the prime minister going forward. i'm worried about that that you are giving controls and authority to someone without having read the document at all, and if he had read a document, instead of standing and saying that our defence is outside the eu structures he would know that within that agreement we are bound into the eu defence structures, because that is what it says within the document. solam is what it says within the document. so i am really concerned that we have people standing in front of us, telling us that they are in support, without having read, and that is a cabinet minister, a man who's meant
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to be at the top his game. the justice minister was patronising people, members of his party who are residing on the grounds, and they should have a vote that goes back to the people, where the whole party and theresa may should be out the door, the ministers that resigning and other members of the party single didn't quite understand, this is not the kind of confidence we wa nt is not the kind of confidence we want to go forward to the european union and show, there is no support this deal and it is quite through it is not going to get through the commons. have seen any labour leadership on this? no, i have been a labour voter most of my life, but at the end of the day, we should be focusing on the needs of the bulk of our population. i am going to pause, because here is theresa may and the commons. thank you, mr speaker. i would like
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to update the house now negotiations to update the house now negotiations to leave the european union. i want to leave the european union. i want to pay tribute to our friends the right honourable members for esher and tatton. delivering brexit means difficult choices for all of us. we do not agree on all of those choices but i respect their views and i want to thank them for sincerely paul they have done. yesterday we agreed they have done. yesterday we agreed the provisional terms for our exit of the european union set out to the d raft of the european union set out to the draft withdrawal agreement and we also agreed an outline political declaration. jean—claude juncker has now written to the european council to recommend that decisive progress has been made in negotiations, and a special european council will be called for sunday the 25th of november. this puts us close to a brexit deal. mr speaker, what we agreed yesterday was not the final deal. it is a draft treaty that means that we will leave the eu in a
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smooth and orderly way on the 29th of march 2019. and which set the framework for a future relationship that delivers in our national interest. it dates back control of our borders, laws and money. it protects jobs, security and the integrity of the united kingdom. and it delivers in ways that many said could simply not be done. we were told that we had a binary choice, between the model of norway or the model of canada. that we could not have a bespoke deal. but the outlying political declaration sets outlying political declaration sets out an arrangement for our country which is better than both of these, more ambitious free—trade agreement than the eu has with any other country, and we were told we would be treated like any other third country on security cooperation but
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the outlines political declaration sets out a depth and breadth of cooperation beyond anything the eu has agreed with any other country. so let me take the house through the details. first on the withdrawal agreement, the full legal text has now been agreed in principle. it sets out the terms on which the uk will leave the eu in 13a days' time, on the 29th of march 2019th. we have secured the rights of the more than 3 million eu citizens living in the uk and around 1 million uk nationals living in the eu. we have agreed a time—limited in fermentation period that ensures that businesses only have to plan for one set of changes. —— implementation period. we have protocols to make sure that gibraltar and the sovereign base areas are covered by the agreement. and we have agreed a fair financial settle m e nt and we have agreed a fair financial settlement far lower than the figures many mentioned at the start of the process. since the start of this process i have been committed
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to ensuring that our exit from the eu deals with the issue of the border between northern ireland and ireland. i believe this issue can best be solved through our future relationship with the european union but the withdrawal agreement sets out an insurance policy should that new relationship not be ready in time at the end of the fermentation period. —— implementation period. i do not pretend this has been a co mforta ble do not pretend this has been a comfortable process or that either we or the eu are entirely happy with all of the arrangements that have been included within it but of course this is the case. this is an arrangement that we have both said we never want to have to use. but while some people might pretend otherwise, there is no deal which delivers the brexit the british people voted for which does not involve this insurance policy. not canada plus plus plus, not norway for now, not our own white paper. the eu will not negotiate any future
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partnership without it. as the house knows, the original proposal from the eu was not acceptable as it would have meant creating a customs border down the irish sea and breaking up the integrity of our united kingdom. the last month i set out for the house the four steps we needed to take. this is what we have now done and we have seen eu make a number of concessions towards our position. first the proposalfor a northern ireland only customs position has been dropped and been replaced by a uk wide temporary customs arrangement that protect the integrity of our precious union. second we have created an option for a single time—limited extension of the augmentation period as an alternative to bringing in the backstop. as i have said many times ido backstop. as i have said many times i do not want to extend the implementation period and i do not believe we will need to do so. this is about an insurance policy. if it happens at the end of 2020 that our
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future relationship is not quite ready, the uk will be able to make a choice between the uk wide temporary customs arrangement or a short extension of the implementation period. the withdrawal agreement commits both parties to use best endeavours to make sure this insurance policy is never used, and in the unlikely event that it is needed, if we choose the backstop, the withdrawal agreement is explicit that it the withdrawal agreement is explicit thatitis the withdrawal agreement is explicit that it is temporary and the article 50 legal base cannot provide for a permanent relationship. and there is also a mechanism by which the backstop can be terminated. finally we have ensured full continued access the northern ireland's businesses to the horror of the uk internal market. —— the whole of the uk internal market. the brexit talks are about acting in the national interest, and that means making what i believe to be the right choices and not the easy ones. i know there are some
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and not the easy ones. i know there are some who have said i should simply rip up the uk's commitment to a backstop but this would have been an entirely irresponsible course of action. it would have meant reneging ona action. it would have meant reneging on a promise made to the people of northern ireland during the referendum campaign and afterwards, that under no circumstances would brexit lead to a return to the borders of the past and it would have made it impossible to deliver a withdrawal agreement. as prime minister of the united kingdom, i have a responsibility to people in every pa rt have a responsibility to people in every part of our country, and i intend to honour that promise. mr speaker, by resolving that issue, we can now move on to finalising the details of an ambitious future partnership. the outlines political declaration we have agreed sets out the basis for these negotiations and we will negotiate ahead of the european council to turn this into a full future framework. the declaration will and free movement
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once and for all. instead we will have our own new skills based immigration based not on the country people come from but on what they can contribute to the uk. the declaration agrees the creation of a free—trade area for goods with zero tariffs, no fees, charges or quantitative restrictions all goods sectors. no other economy has such an arrangement with the eu and at the same time we will also be free to strike new trade deals with other partners around the world. we have also reached common ground on a close relationship between services and investment including financial services, which go well beyond wto commitments. the declaration ensures we will be leaving the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy. so we will decide how best to sustain and support our farms and our environment, and the uk will become an independent coastal state once again. we have also reached agreement on key
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elements of our future security partnership to keep our people safe. this includes swift and effective extradition arrangements as well as arrangements for effective data exchange on passenger name records, dna, fingerprints and vehicle registration data. and we have agreed a close and flexible partnership on foreign policy and defence policy. when i first became prime minister in 2016, there was no ready—made blueprint for brexit. many people said it could simply not be done. i have never accepted that. i have been committed day and night to delivering on the result of the referendum. and ensuring the uk leaves the eu absolutely and on time. but i also said at the very start that with drawing from eu membership after a0 years and establishing a wholly new relationship that would endure for decades to come would be complex and would require hard work. i know it
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has been a frustrating process. it has been a frustrating process. it has forced us to confront some very difficult issues. but a good brexit, brexit which is in the national interest, is possible. we have persevered and we have made a decisive breakthrough. once a final deal is agreed, i will bring it to parliament and i will ask mps to consider the national interest and give it their backing. voting against the deal would take us all back to square one. it will mean more uncertainty, more division and a failure to deliver on the decision of the british people that we should leave the eu. if we get behind a deal, we can bring our country back together and seize the opportunities that lie ahead. mr speaker, the british people want us to get this done and to get on with addressing the other issues they care about. creating more good jobs in every pa rt creating more good jobs in every part of the uk. doing more to help
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families with the cost of living. helping the nhs provide first—class ca re helping the nhs provide first—class care and to give every child a great start in life, and to focus every ounce of our energy on building a brighter future ounce of our energy on building a brighterfuture for our ounce of our energy on building a brighter future for our country. mr speaker, the choice is clear. we can choose to leave with no deal. we can risk may brexit at all. orwe can or we can choose to unite and support the best deal that can be negotiated, this deal, a deal which entry movement, take back control of our borders, rules and money, delivers a free—trade area for goods with zero tariffs, leaves the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy, delivers an independent foreign and defence policy, while retaining the continued security operation to keep our people safe. maintain shared commitment to high standard, protect
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jobs, on the integrity of our united kingdom, and deliver the brexit the british people voted for. i choose to deliver for the british people. i choose to do what is in our national interest and i commend this statement to the house. jeremy corbyn. thank you, mr speaker. i want to thank the prime minister for speaker. i want to thank the prime ministerfor an speaker. i want to thank the prime minister for an advance copy of her statement. the withdrawal agreement and the outlined political declaration represent failure. after two years the government has produced a botched deal that breaches the prime minister's own red lines and does not meet our six tests. the government, mr speaker, is in chaos. their deal risks
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leaving the country in an indefinite halfway house without a real say. when even the last brexit secretary, who theoretically at least negotiated the deal, says i cannot support the proposed deal, what faith does that give anyone else in this place or in this country? the government simply cannot put to parliament this half baked deal that both the brexit secretary and his predecessor have rejected. no deal is not a real option and the government has not seriously prepared for it. the government must publish its full legal advice and the treasury of full economic impact of the deal and an obr updated economic forecast. the withdrawal agreement is a leap in the dark, and ill—defined deal by never date. there is no mention of the prime
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minister's favourite term, implementation period anywhere in the 585 pages of this document. and no wonder. there is precious little new to implement spelt out in either the agreement or the political declaration. article three of the agreement states transition can be extended to end by the 31st of december 20 xx. can the prime minister confirmed this could mean 2099? can the prime minister confirmed that if the uk government cannot agree a comprehensive future relationship by january 2021, cannot agree a comprehensive future relationship byjanuary 2021, which few believe would be possible, and the last two years gives us the confidence that government can, then
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those negotiations would have to be put on hold? because the focus would then inevitably shift from negotiations on the future relationship to negotiations on an extension of the transition period, including further payments to the eu. can the prime minister told a house how confident she is that a deal can be done by the end of 2020, and also confirmed that, if a new trade agreement is not agreed by the 31st of december 2020, then article 132 applies, paying a huge financial contribution in order to extend the transition period, if we are to avoid triggering the backstop as the prime minister insists is her position. on the backstop itself, should it come into force, there is no time limit or end point and if
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either party requests of view and if there is no agreement, it goes to an independent arbitration. the backstop locks britain into a deal from which it cannot leave without the agreement of the eu. in the backstop restrictions on state aid are hard—wired in with an arbitration mechanism but no such guarantee, it says, for workers' rights. can the prime minister also confirm that the backstop applies separate regulatory rules to northern ireland, creating a de fa cto northern ireland, creating a de facto border down the ibc, as northern ireland will be subject to the customs union, but not the rest of the uk —— down the irish sea. this is despite the fact that the current prime minister says this is, andi current prime minister says this is, and i quote, no uk prime minister could ever agree to. another of the red line is breached. in fact, the list of eu measures that continue to
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apply to the uk in respect of northern ireland runs to 68 pages of the agreement. this affects vat declarations and rules of origin checks. it is clear the prime minister's red line regarding the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice has also been torn up. by 2021, under the prime minister's plan b will either be in a backstop or still in transition, we're looking —— we will continue to contribute to the eu budget and follow rules overseen by the ecj. it is utterly far—fetched by the prime minister say this plan means have taken controls minister say this plan means have ta ken controls over ahlers, minister say this plan means have taken controls over ahlers, money and borders. after two years of negotiation or the government has really agreed is a vague, seven page outline political declaration which looks like a substantial dilution of the prime minister's previously declared negotiating priorities. there is only the scant mention of
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workers' rights, consumers rights, or environmental protection. no determination to achieve directionless trade or even trade as frictionless as possible. no ambition to negotiate a comprehensive new customs union that would protect trade, jobs and industry and so, uncertainty continues for business and all of those that work in business. that risks decisions for investment being the third even further, costing jobs and living standards and many companies may decide the lack of certainty simply means they brexit. no clear plan to get a strong deal with the single market to ensure continued access to european access and services, just to go beyond the baseline of the world trade organisation. the first ministers of wales and scotland make clear that the prime minister that participation in the customs union
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to protect the economy and jobs was essential. likewise, mr speaker, there was no ambition to achieve continuation of the european wide arrest warrant or equivalent and no clarity about our status with the galileo project or europol, and no clarity about any future immigration system between the uk and the eu, and following the windrush scandal many eu nationals here would have no confidence at all in this government to deliver a fair and efficient system. the brexit secretary promised a substantive document. he's obviously no longer here. can the prime minister informed the house when that detailed framework agreement will be with us? mr speaker this is not the view of the country was promised. and parliament cannot accept our false choice
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between this bad deal and no—del. people around the country will be feeling anxious this morning. about the industries that they work in. thejobs the industries that they work in. the jobs that they hold, about the stability of their communities and their country. the government must now withdraw this half baked deal which it is clear that not have the backing of the cabinet, this parliament or the country as a whole. minister. thank you, mr speaker, to pick up some of the points the honourable gentleman made, first of all the comments, he said that no—del was not an option but then complain that we were not preparing for no—del, and we have been preparing for it, and we continue to prepare for no—deal because we have a further stage of negotiation with the european council, then that deal when
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finalised with the european council has to come back to this house, so we'll continue those preparations. he says the withdrawal agreement is ill—defined. 500 pages of detailed legal text on the withdrawal agreement is not an ill—defined withdrawal agreement. he complains that the withdrawal agreement does not refer to the implementation period, of course it refers to be transition period which is exactly the same point of time. he talks about, he then talked about the question of the decision of the backstop and the implementation period as coming at the end of december 2020. if you looks again at the documents that have been produced, he will see that the decision will be taken injune 2020, as to whether it is likely that the future relationship will not be in place on the 1st of january 2021 and the decision at that point will be that the uk to decide whether it
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wa nts to that the uk to decide whether it wants to extend the limitation period for a limited period or whether it wishes to go into the backstop. he's wrong in saying we have been absolutely... he is wrong in saying that we will have not dealt with the issue of the border down the irish sea, we have dealt with that, i was clear in this house that we would, it took some considerable time to persuade the european union to move from its proposalfor a northern european union to move from its proposal for a northern ireland european union to move from its proposalfor a northern ireland only customs territory to a uk wide one, but we have achieved that. and in relation to the question of workers' rights, there is reference to non—regression in relation to workers' rights. he says that the protocol, the outline political declaration does not have references to what we are proposing in terms of a free—trade area for the future. in fa ct a free—trade area for the future. in fact that is explicitly what it does reference in the protocol. it sets
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out very clearly that we will be creating a free—trade area between the united kingdom and the european union and i'm not sure what document the right honourable gentleman read, because he said there was not references to extradition, there are indeed references to it, and he said also there was nothing about europol window was expressly a reference that he would include in the future document for united kingdom corporation through europol and through eurojust. i say do the honourable gentleman, there was a choice before members of this house. it isa choice before members of this house. it is a choice of whether or not we go ahead with the deal that does deliver on the vote, while protecting jobs, while protecting our security and while protecting our security and while protecting our union. of course what the right honourable gentleman wants is for us
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to stay in the single market and customs union, which would not deliver on the date of the referendum. we are —— on the date of the referendum. we are coming out of the referendum. we are coming out of the common agricultural policy, the common fisheries policy and taking back control of our money, borders and lows, that is the right dealfor britain and it is the deal that we will be putting forward before this house. mr kenneth clarke. it is a brexiteer illusion that the country can leave the treaties of the european union whilst selecting to retain all the benefits that we enjoy over the treaties and repudiating most if not all of the obligations. and we have to face up to the fact that that is an allusion. does the prime minister agree that the biggest single economic benefit, most of the main benefits that we have enjoyed from
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our membership over the last decades flow from the completely open border between the whole of the united kingdom and the rest of the european union, and upon that have been based huge flows of inward investment, the tradition ofjust—in—time lines of supply and very many thousands of jobs in this country, so we'll see undertake that we will not change the present basis of that, which is the present basis of that, which is the single market and the customs union until we know what we are changing to? and until we are satisfied that any change will retain those benefits, and keep com pletely retain those benefits, and keep completely open from any delays and costs caused by regulatory differences or anything else, which will be created by moving away from where we are now and threatening the
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economic future of this country very considerably, if we just decide unilaterally to walk out of —— as some unilaterally to walk out of —— as some of my colleagues seem to recommend. prime minister. we have indeed a very clear message about the importance of frictionless borders from business, which is why the proposal that the united kingdom has put forward to the european union is based on that concept of frictionless borders and a free—trade area that we have put forward is precisely in that frame. my forward is precisely in that frame. my right honourable in the print talks about remaining in the single market and customs union. i do not believe that is right for the future of the united kingdom because i do not believe that doing those things would deliver on the vote of the british people. i think the british people wanted various things that underpinned the doubt, an ntp movement was one of those, also remaining in the customs union does not enable us to have an independent
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trade policy, and i believe it is important that we do, whilst —— busby have left the european union. we are negotiating the basis of the future trading relationship on the concept of a free—trade area, being able to move goods seamlessly across the border. ian blackford. thank you mr speaker, can i thank the prime minister for mr speaker, can i thank the prime ministerfor advanced mr speaker, can i thank the prime minister for advanced sight of her statement? the prime minister comes before us today trying to sell us a deal that is already dead in the water. not even her own brexit secretary could stand over it. mr speaker, to lose one brexit secretary is one thing but toulouse two ina secretary is one thing but toulouse two in a matter of months underlines the chaotic nature of this tory government. the number ten front door has become a revolving one. the prime minister talks about taking back control. she can't even control her own cabinet. as i said
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yesterday, the prime minister is desperate, and is increasingly looking defeated. what is absolutely shocking is that scotland is not once mentioned in the document. not once, prime minister. not once have the unique characteristics of scotland's divorce settlement been worthy of mention. the leader of the scottish national party must be. and heard with courtesy. we are very grateful for your sedentary observations but i don't think they add to the quality of our deliberations. everybody will be heard. mr ian blackford. thank you, mr speaker. not once has scotland's unique characteristics and the devout settlement been worthy of
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mention and yet, 100 mentions of northern ireland, mentions of gibraltar, cyprus, the isle of man, but no reference to scotland. utter co nte m pt but no reference to scotland. utter contempt has once again been shown to the scottish government, parliament and people. mr speaker, differentiated deals for northern ireland means that scotland can have its own differentiated deal. if northern ireland can stay in the single market, why not scotland, prime minister? the scottish government have published an improvised document is calling for just this. the scottish parliament has affirmed that position. why does the prime minister it nor the democratically expressed position of the scottish government? what has happened to the claim of a partnership of equals? why are the desires of scotland being ignored, when we know that differentiated
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settle m e nt when we know that differentiated settlement can be delivered? why does the prime minister in the face of the legitimate demands of the scottish government and the scottish parliament? well, you know, the prime minister can shake her head, but it is a matter of fact, reality. show some respect to the devolved institutions. the price... well, you can bray and shout and you can talk about it being dreadful, but why was the scottish government not consulted just as gibraltar waters, but now the prime minister went to cabinet yesterday? the price scotla nd cabinet yesterday? the price scotland would be forced to pay is far too high of lost jobs, scotland would be forced to pay is far too high of lostjobs, household income slashed and an nhs under threat. now was a time to get realistic and put sensible options back on the table, such as remaining in the single market. mr speaker,
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