“…the Withdrawal Agreement, in its current form, is unacceptable and she will not persuade the DUP to support it.It would place barriers to our greatest market and it would lock us into accepting rules and regulations from Brussels with absolutely no democratic control over those rules,” said DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) Leader and MEP, Arlene Foster, after meeting Theresa May (PM of the United kingdom) at in Stormont House held today.
“…We have urged the Prime Minister to dump her PR plans for the Withdrawal Agreement and instead work on finding a better way forward. If the backstop was removed, then consensus could be achieved,”Foster added.
May is currently on PR tour in Wales and Northern Ireland trying to earn the needed support for the Withdrawal Agreement apporved last Sunday by the EU Council of the Article 50. Tomorrow she will visit Schothland with the same aim.
More choices than approving the Agreement or no Agreement, despite May’s claims
“We should not be pressurised into accepting a deal that senior figures, including the Chancellor, have said is bad for the economy and bad for the Union because of a false choice that there is no alternative. There is another way. This is not a binary choice. We need to explore that third way,” Arlene Foster continued.
EU is not shifting their position because Uk is not even asking for it
“The European Union will obviously say there can be no change right until the moment they accept change. Presently there is absolutely no pressure on them to shift their position because the United Kingdom isn’t even asking,” DUP leader pointed.
“Now is the time to accept that the Withdrawal Agreement, as it currently stands, is damaging and that the United Kingdom cannot accept it. The conversation can then begin to ensure we get a deal that works for everyone,” she ended.
The Parliament will say no to the Agreement next 11th December
“As There are a growing number of voices right across the House of Commons who oppose the Withdrawal Agreement. They see good parts but they want the backstop to be binned. With no enthusiasm amongst parliamentarians for the Withdrawal Agreement, it seems destined to be rejected by the House of Commons,” foresees Foster.
When the Prime Minister presented the Draft Exit Agreement on November 15 in the House of Commons and in the night before she informed the members of her cabinet.
Both, her cabinet and the Parliamet made crystal clear that Theresa May can expect little or no support for a treaty that delays UK exit from the EU for at least two years by setting a transitory customs regime for the whole country and especially for Northern Ireland.
There were many resignations among the members of his cabinet, at least 5 in a single day, including Dominic Raab (Secretary of State for the Exit of the European Union).
At the Parliament Jacob Rees Mogg (Member of the 57th Parliament of the United Kingdom by North East Somerset since 2017 and considered as the head of the supporters of a hard Brexit within the Conservative Party) propposed voting to remove Parliament confidence to May.
Both the resignation letters sent to the PM by the members of May’s cabinet and those Members of the Parliament against the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by her, include among the reasons why they do not endorse it:
1.- The unity of the country is under risk by promoting a different treatment for Northern Ireland.
2.- The United Kingdom would be in a worse situation once it gets separated from the European Union that it is now inside the EU.
3.- Approving the withdrawal agreement includes an obligation to pay 39,000 million pounds to the EU without obtaining anything in exchange.
4.- The country does not recover its independence, as May promises, but remains under the customs union and it is up to the EU to decide when that situation will end.
5.- Many members of the cabinet and the Parliament demand that the Withdrawal agreement should be voted by UK citizens, since its content differs substantially from the terms proposed to the British people at the Brexit referendum.
Brexit looses more and more supporters, also among British citizens
YouGob announced on November 15th the outcomes of a survey showing what the citizens of the United Kingdom think about Brexit once there is a draft technical agreement that establishes a transitional situation keeping the UK at least for two years under the customs union and in many fields under the EU law.
According to the aforementioned survey, a 42% of British citizens declare they are against the technical agreement for the Brexit published on 15th November, compared to a 19% who say they are in favor. A 39% of the population said that they do not know or didn’t answer.
Even in the case of those who voted in favor of the Brexit at the referendum, the majority (42%) are against the technical agreement negotiated by the May Government, compared to a 22% that keeps on in favor. A 36% of those who voted yes to the Brexit declare themselves undecided (they do not know or do not answer).
The group against the technical agreement published on 15th November among voters of the Conservative Party is also a majority, 41% opposed to it, compared to 28% who support it and and 31% do not know or didn’t answer.
Amid the bunch of resignations and increasing criticism against May in the House of Commons a 44% of British citizens believe that it is possible to reach a much better agreement than the one that has reached May versus a 19% who considers that it is not possible. The percentage of respondents who think that a better deal con be achieved goes up to 55% in the case of those who voted in favor of the Brexit, compared to a 13% who say it is not possible. Among voters of the conservative party a 51% is convinced that there is a chance for a better agreement and 21% believe that not.
What after Parliament’s no?
The British House of Commons has published a scheme showing all the possible scenarios, whether May gets the parliamentary support for the Withdrawal Agreement, or not (watch the chart below)
The image shows that in case an agreement there will not happen necesaarily a hard Brexit. The Government can decide staying inside the European Union or just take the hard Brexit way (withdrawal under no agreement). The PM will decide but in any case she needs the endorsement by the Parliament to execute her choice.
May has been repeating one day and another that the Withdrawal Agreement accepted by the EU Council on 25th November is the only one. Should the Parliament not approve the document the alternative is leaving the EU with no agreement. The PM also has made clear that there will be no citizens vote on the Agreement reached with the EU 27. “It is the Parliament’s duty to deliver on the vote of the British people”, she underscores again and again.
The British Parliament should vote on the Withdrawal Agreement next 11th December.
Image over the headline.- Arlene Foster (MEP and DUP leader). © DUP.
Related external links:
Draft Withdrawal Agreement passed last Sunday by the EU Council of Article 50
Political Declaration that sets the Framework for future negotiations and retations UK -EU
YouGob poll and survey on British citizens suppor to the Draft Agreement
Related Eastwind links (Spanish edition):
Brexit.- Sánchez firma el Acuerdo de Salida sin cambios en el Protocolo sobre Gibraltar
