Prime Minister calls off crucial Brexit deal vote
Prime Minister Theresa May is to travel to Europe to seek concessions on her Brexit deal, after calling off a crunch House of Commons vote in which she was expected to go down to a heavy defeat.
Last updated 10th Dec 2018
In a statement to MPs, Mrs May also said the Government was stepping up preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit.
And she said that MPs who were threatening to vote against the deal she secured with Brussels must ask themselves the fundamental question: "Does this House want to deliver Brexit?''
If the answer was yes, she said that they needed to consider whether they were prepared to make "compromises'' in order to make good on the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU.
Mrs May's statement came amid dramatic scenes at Westminster, as news of her plan to postpone Tuesday's "meaningful vote'' broke just minutes after Downing Street had insisted it was going ahead.
It is understood that the PM had been warned that she faced a large-scale defeat when MPs voted at the end of five days of debate in the Commons on her plans.
She spoke with her Cabinet colleagues by a telephone conference call before addressing the Commons.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said she had spoken with Mrs May and urged her to drop the backstop arrangement from the deal.
"“The deferment of the Meaningful Vote just about sums up the chaotic nature of the Government’s approach to these negotiations.
"The Prime Minister was warned that this deal would not work but did not listen.
The fundamentally flawed Withdrawal Agreement would have undermined our United Kingdom economy and the Union itself.
"The backstop would have left Northern Ireland trapped as a hostage to the European Union.
"The Prime Minister must get rid of the backstop. It is not needed. No one is building a “hard-border” between NI and RoI.
"I was categorical that pledges, promises or piecemeal remedies will not work.
"Unless it is part of the legally binding international treaty, it will not fly with the DUP."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "We are in an extremely serious and unprecedented situation.
"The Government has lost control of events and is in complete disarray."
Mr Corbyn went on: "It's been evident for weeks that the Prime Minister's deal did not have the confidence of this House, yet she ploughed on regardless - reiterating this is the only deal available.''
He urged Mrs May to be clear over whether she is seeking changes to the deal or "mere reassurances'' and asked if she was "ready to drop further red lines in order to make progress''.
Mr Corbyn added: "Bringing back the same botched deal either next week or in January - and can she be clear on the timing - will not change its fundamental flaws and deeply held objections right across this House, which go far wider than the backstop alone.
"This is a bad deal for Britain, a bad deal for our economy and a bad deal for our democracy. Our country deserves better than this."