Theresa May makes statement in Parliament on proposed next steps for Brexit

Theresa May makes statement in Parliament on proposed next steps for Brexit

Theresa May is setting out her Brexit plan B to MPs in the House of Commons, after her initial deal on how the UK would leave the EU was rejected, reports Euronews.

Her plan B will not be debated in Parliament until the 29 January. The vote is expected the same day.

The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on Friday the 29 March 2019 at 11 p.m. UK time.

However, Parliament has been in deadlock over a final Brexit agreement.

Today, the European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Margaritis Schinas, refused to be drawn on Britain’s Brexit deadlock and said only that the Irish backstop was part of the withdrawal agreement.

“I’m not going to speculate on any possible outcomes on any possible announcements,” Schinas said, adding “don’t look for answers to Brussels’. As I told you in the past, this is the moment for London to speak, not for us.”

Several EU foreign ministers said Monday that reopening the deal was out of the question.

Key points from Theresa May’s speech

Theresa May started her speech condemning the car bomb attack in Northern Ireland at the weekend.

She then moved on to her Brexit plan B statement.

“The right way to rule out no deal is for this house to approve a deal with the EU,” May said at the start of her speech.

On a second referendum, she said “our duty is to implement the decision of the first one.”

The Prime Minister said she does not believe there is a majority to support a second referendum.

“Accepting a second referendum will damage the union, and damage social cohesion,” she added.

On the Northern Ireland backstop, she said despite the changes previously agreed, there remains two key issues, adding she will have further conversations around the issues and then take feedback from the talks back to the EU.

She said there are anxieties over the freedom of movement of EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens in the EU and vowed to offer better protections on workers’ rights.

She added the government is going to scrap the EU citizens registration fee, which is £65. And said anyone who has already paid it to confirm their settlement status post-Brexit will be reimbursed.