PM sends 'deputy' to NI as she continues Brexit deal sell
But proposed amendment will "not cut it" according to Arlene Foster
Last updated 7th Dec 2018
De facto Deputy Prime Minister, David Lidington, is heading to Northern Ireland today (Friday) in a final push to sell Theresa May’s Brexit deal ahead of next week’s crucial Commons vote.
He is expected to meet small business leaders in Belfast.
Senior Cabinet ministers including Chancellor Philip Hammond and Health Secretary Matt Hancock are among those who will be deployed to local communities in other parts of the UK to garner support for Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, meanwhile, will visit engineering companies in Peterborough and the East Midlands.
Mrs May who switched on the Christmas lights in Downing Street last night (main pic) said: “We have delivered a deal that honours the vote of the British people.
“I've been speaking to factory workers in Scotland, farmers in Wales and people right across the country, answering their questions about the deal and our future.
“Overwhelmingly, the message I've heard is that people want us to get on with it.
“And that's why it's important that ministers are out speaking with communities across the UK today about how the deal works for them.''
The Ministers hit the road after MPs tabled an amendment to the meaningful vote on the Withdrawal Agreement that would give MPs some control over the controversial Northern Ireland border backstop, which has been the main sticking point after two years of negotiations.
The alteration would mean Parliament would have to approve a decision to trigger the backstop arrangement or extend the transition period beyond December 2020.
It was tabled by Northern Ireland minister Sir Hugo Swire, Richard Graham and Bob Neill, hours after the Prime Minister indicated Parliament would choose between the two options after the UK formally quits the EU.
The move is likely to be seen as a bid to bolster flagging support for Mrs May ahead of a crunch Commons vote on her EU withdrawal deal next Tuesday - a showdown the PM made clear on Thursday morning she would not postpone.
But it remains to be seen whether it goes far enough to win over enough Tory Brexiteers to get the deal through the Commons.
DUP leader Arlene Foster warned that the amendment would not be enough, tweeting: “Domestic legislative tinkering won't cut it.
“The legally binding international Withdrawal Treaty would remain fundamentally flawed as evidenced by the Attorney General's legal advice."