THE SNP stepped in to urge Theresa May to delay Britain’s exit from the EU as fears grow the UK could be on course to crash out of without a deal.
Ian Blackford, the party’s Westminster leader, called on May to extend Article 50 as MPs gathered for the last PMQs before Westminster breaks up for the summer and following intense infighting among Tory MPs over May’s Brexit plans.
“The reality is that this is a Prime Minister who has lost control of her own party, a Prime Minister who is in office but not in power, and a Parliament that is so divided that it simply cannot function.” said Blackford.
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“Mr Speaker, to use a good Gaelic word, it is a bùrach. We cannot crash out of the EU without a deal. We need to think of the next generation, who will pay a price for this folly.
“They will see lost opportunities and lost jobs. Did the Prime Minister come into Parliament to have this as her legacy? Will she now face up to the reality and extend Article 50?”
May, however, swiftly rejected Blackford’s request.
She has been hit by a series of resignations from her government since drawing up plans for a softer Brexit two weeks ago at Chequers and in the past 48 hours has just narrowly won a series of votes on trade and customs arrangements despite substantial rebellions by pro-European Tories.
Tory Brexiteer Steve Baker, a junior minister who resigned last week, yesterday piled on the pressure further demanding any government contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit should “bolster” the UK’s negotiating position.
Giving evidence to the Liaison Committee, the SNP’s Angus MacNeil said the PM reminds him of Gloria Gaynor – I will survive.
At the session she was challenged over whether her Chequers plan had the support of MPs.
Exiting the EU Select Committee chairman Hilary Benn told her: “Everyone else watching what is going on here – including those with whom we are negotiating – is wondering whether, in fact, your proposals have the support of Parliament and doesn’t that make your job more difficult?”
The Prime Minister said: “I have been very clear that these are the proposals the Government is bring forward, these are the UK’s proposals that we are taking forward and that is being engaged with by the European Commission.”
May insisted she stuck by her “no deal is better than a bad deal” position, despite the implications that might have for the Northern Ireland border. Asked if no deal would result in a hard border she told MPs: “There isn’t the sort of simple answer to that that you are looking for.”
She added: “We would need to consider what action we would take in those circumstances.”
The Prime Minister said the European Commission had been “very clear that if there is no agreement in relation to customs arrangements then there have to be checks at the border”.
She told the Liaison Committee: “You ask me about the fact that I have said ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’. I think that is right, I remain by that. Some have suggested that we would be prepared to pay any price for something, I think that would not be a good deal for the UK.”
Earlier, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said the Government would in the coming weeks be setting out more details of its preparations for a no-deal scenario.
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