Brexit vote: Michel Barnier says UK future at stake amid claims Theresa May's advisers 'want her to call new referendum'

Mr Barnier said Mrs May's deal will ensure an orderly withdrawal from the EU
EPA
Sophie Williams7 December 2018

Michel Barnier said tonight that the future of the UK is at stake in the upcoming vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal.

In a the strongly-worded remark, chief EU Brexit negotiator Mr Barnier said Mrs May's Brexit deal is the only route to securing an orderly withdrawal from the EU.

He said: “If there is no withdrawal treaty, there is no transition, no basis of confidence that we need with the British regarding the future relationship.

His comments come following claims that the prime minister’s advisers “want Mrs May to call a new referendum.”

Leaving number 10: Theresa May (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Getty Images

MPs are set to vote in the Commons on December 11 with the current odds stacked against Mrs May’s government winning that vote.

Many MPs are particularly sceptical about the fallback arrangement or “backstop” to guarantee that there is no return to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, seen as essential to preserving peace.

Mr Barnier said during a gathering of the European Committee of the Regions that it was integral that the withdrawal treaty agreed between Brussels and London be ratified.

He said: “Now is the moment for everyone to bear their responsibilities. You know the British parliament will give its verdict on this text and on the future relationship in the coming days. It is a vote in which the future of the country is at stake.”

Supporters of a clean break with the EU say the backstop could leave Britain forced to accept EU regulations indefinitely, or Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of Britain.

Prime Minister Theresa May as she speaks in the House of Commons in London on December 4
AFP/Getty Images

"This backstop," said Mr Barnier. "We will do everything we can to avoid using it."

Mr Barnier repeated his view that the Brexit deal that Mrs May wants the British parliament to back is the best Britain will get to arrange its orderly withdrawal from the EU.

Later on Thursday, a report from Buzzfeed claimed that several of the prime minister’s allies have suggested a second referendum in which voters are offered a choice between her deal and remaining in the EU.

While others have suggested a softer Norway-style Brexit, should her deal fail to pass.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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