Prime Minister confirms Brexit vote delay
Prime Minister Theresa May has told the House of Commons that the vote on her Brexit deal will be delayed.
To a packed House she also confirmed that the deal to leave the EU she has tabled isn’t available without the Northern Irish backstop, but that she would hold emergency talks with EU to try and force possible changes on that point.
The Prime Minister said: “There will be no enduring and successful Brexit without compromise on both sides.
“If you want a second referendum be honest that it risks dividing the country again. As time goes on without agreeing a Brexit deal, the risk of accidental no deal increases. Because of that the government will step up work to work on no deal planning.
Replying, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The Government has lost control of events and is in complete disarray. We’ve endured two years of shambolic negotiations. The deal damages our economy and is bad for the country.”
The news follows a tough weekend for the government with many of May’s own party distancing themselves from the deal she has proposed that would see the UK leave the EU on 29 March next year.
Scott Knowles, chief executive at East Midlands Chamber, said: “It’s hard to know what is worse from a business perspective.
“A no-deal Brexit on 29 March would at least offer a degree of certainty that things will change and wake business up to the fact that they need to be acting now to ensure the smoothest transition possible to a post-Brexit economy.
“The Withdrawal Agreement that Prime Minister Theresa May brought back from the EU would have offered at least an additional 21 months of stability but, as of today, wouldn’t have offered any degree of certainty beyond December 2020 – a deferment of doubt rather than an end to it.
“Business is the creator of wealth and jobs in this country. Whichever side of the debate our elected members sit, they must ensure the needs of business are foremost in their deliberations, and what business needs more than anything right now is a degree of certainty that allows them to plan future investment in terms of money, plant, premises, training and jobs creation.”
