Brexit news: Theresa May risks Brexiteer fury by assuring EU leaders that backstop will remain in deal
Prime minister holds 'robust' talks as she looks to reopen negotiations on her withdrawal agreement
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has risked Brexiteer fury by assuring European leaders that the divisive Irish backstop will remain in any final deal.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit chief, said Ms May told senior MEPs "there is no question to remove the backstop", which acts as an insurance policy against a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The prime minister held "robust" talks with European Commission chief Jean Claude Juncker in Brussels, where the pair agreed to open negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
But Mr Juncker stuck by his refusal to reopen the Brexit deal, dampening hopes that the EU could allow Ms May to strip the backstop from the agreement to appease MPs.
It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a row from his own MPs after laying out the terms under which the party would back Ms May’s deal – but making no reference to a second referendum.
Here is how we covered the days events:
Interesting... shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook goes further than Jeremy Corbyn, by explicitly saying May must commit to these terms or Labour will move to support a public vote.
Andrea Leadsom confirms there will be a debate on Theresa May's Brexit deal on Thursday, February 14.
The PM will bring a 'revised deal' back to the House for a second meaningful vote 'as soon as she can'. If that's not possible by Feb 13, the government will table an amendable motion on Thursday.
Theresa May and her ministers are under fire for attending a lavish Conservative donor ball amid the on-going deadlock over Britain’s exit from the EU.
The prime minister, who today arrived in Brussels in attempt to renegotiate her Brexit deal, dashed backed from Northern Ireland on Thursday evening to join senior Tories at the party’s annual Black and White Ball fundraiser.
Cabinet ministers in attendance included the Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay, the environment secretary Michael Gove, the Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, and the health secretary Matt Hancock.
More here:
Downing Street confirmed that Jeremy Corbyn's letter had been received, and a spokeswoman added: "We will reply in due course. Our positions on many of the issues in the letter are well known. Our position on the backstop has not changed."
The spokeswoman said that no further meeting between Mrs May and the Labour leader to discuss Brexit had been scheduled, but added that "her door is open".
NEW: A joint statement has dropped from Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president.
Talks were "robust but constructive", which is politician-speak for pretty tough. Another key takeaway is they are planning to meet "at the end of February", which is dangerously close to exit day on March 29. Are we getting closer to a delay?
Read it in full below:
Prime Minister May and President Juncker have met today to review the next steps in the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The talks were held in a spirit of working together to achieve the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU, especially in the context of a shared determination to achieve a strong partnership for the future given the global challenges the EU and the UK face together in upholding open and fair trade, cooperation in the fight against climate change and terrorism and defending the rules-based international system.
The Prime Minister described the context in the UK Parliament, and the motivation behind last week’s vote in the House of Commons seeking a legally binding change to the terms of the backstop. She raised various options for dealing with these concerns in the context of the Withdrawal Agreement in line with her commitments to the Parliament.
President Juncker underlined that the EU27 will not reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, which represents a carefully balanced compromise between the European Union and the UK, in which both sides have made significant concessions to arrive at a deal. President Juncker however expressed his openness to add wording to the Political Declaration agreed by the EU27 and the UK in order to be more ambitious in terms of content and speed when it comes to the future relationship between the European Union and the UK. President Juncker drew attention to the fact that any solution would have to be agreed by the European Parliament and the EU27.
The discussion was robust but constructive. Despite the challenges, the two leaders agreed that their teams should hold talks as to whether a way through can be found that would gain the broadest possible support in the UK Parliament and respect the guidelines agreed by the European Council. The Prime Minister and the President will meet again before the end of February to take stock of these discussions.
Our Europe correspondent Jon Stone has filed this quick take on May's meeting with Juncker.
Ex-shadow cabinet member Owen Smith says he's thinking about quitting the Labour party over its Brexit stance. Luciana Berger, another Labour MP, has also suggested she might do so.
Both are critics of Jeremy Corbyn - Smith was sacked as shadow Northern Ireland secretary for supporting a final say, while Berger has been outspoken about antisemitism within the party.
However it's one to watch, as it's very unusual for MPs to openly admit they might quit. Westminster is watching to see if this latest Brexit shift is enough to tip some MPs over the edge.
The young will “neither forget nor forgive” the politicians responsible for Brexit if they end up being its biggest victims, Sir John Major has warned.
The former Conservative prime minister issued a chilling warning to his own party that it will be punished by a generation that “fear for their future” as the UK leaves the EU.
Full story here:
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has waded into the growing row over Labour's Brexit policy, after Jeremy Corbyn wrote to the PM overnight to lay out the terms his party would require to support her deal.
Crucially, it doesn't make any mention of a second referendum. This has enraged pro-EU Labour MPs, who believed that the party was inching towards officially support a fresh vote. After all, Labour's conference voted in September to keep all options on the table, including a people's vote.
Starmer's deputy Matthew Pennycook has already set hares running by tweeting Labour will support a people's vote if May fails to agree with these terms (see earlier).
Now Starmer has also set out that a public vote is still on the table, setting the scene for another Labour Brexit row. It appears that red water is opening up between Team Corbyn and Team Starmer.
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