British Prime Minister to Address Parliament; Juncker Says, We Will Not Renegotiate Brexit; Prime Minister May Announces Brexit Vote Won't Be Held Tuesday; Jeremy Corbyn Says the Government Has Lost Control of Events.
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to the show. Where we are live outside the Houses of Parliament. You can hear the protesters behind me, on both sides of this debate. Those that want to remain and those that want a firm Brexit here. We are counting down, waiting for U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to address Parliament any moment now. A source says the Prime Minister is set to postpone that key vote on the Brexit deal originally meant to take place tomorrow. Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joins us again in Westminster. Also, with us, Bianca Nobilo and Erin McLaughlin in Brussels. Matthew come in here, because if we do indeed see the Prime Minister delay the vote, my question is very simple. Then what?</s>CHANCE: Well, I mean, it's a good question. And it's a question to which we don't have the answer. We're all waiting -- all of us -- with anticipation to see what she's going to say. Obviously, we expect she's going to announce a formal postponement of this much-awaited meaningful vote. And the reception for that, I expect, is going to be raucous. Just like the level of debate outside the Parliament building here in central London where we're both standing. There're all sorts of different opinions being expressed here. From people who want support for the May deal, from people who want us to exit the European Union, without any negotiated settlement on WTO terms. People who want a general election. People who want a second referendum. I mean, the list goes on. The recipe for all of that, or the result for all of that, whatever scenario eventually plays out, whatever she agrees with Brussels and comes back to the Parliament with, the result is going to be political chaos. Because no deal that any Prime Minister is going to announce to this country, which is so divided, in so many ways, is going to satisfy everybody and so this issue is likely to, I expect, dominate the political debate in this country for years, if not decades to come. And so, it's an unenviable position that Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, is currently in. And we are going to wait, because in the next few minutes, we are expecting for her to address the House of Commons and to set out perhaps what her plan from here on in is. At the moment, it's just speculation. We don't know. We are waiting for her to speak.</s>CHATTERLEY: Yes, Matthew, you know, we can see the protesters behind you. WTO rules of course. What the U.K. would revert to if indeed it weren't remaining within the prism of the EU and those kind of rules. You can see the challenge that she's got. And Bianca, come in here, because all the way along it's been trying to please all sides here, has been the challenge. If she delays this vote, what can she do here in order to change it, to get a vote ultimately passed here in Parliament?</s>NOBILO: Well, the problem is, Julia -- as one MP put it to me the other day -- is everybody hates this deal for different reasons. So, it makes it very difficult for the Prime Minister to know what even to go back to the EU with and try and renegotiate even if that were to be possible. Because she knows that each of these interest groups within Parliament are still going to still have problems with it for their own reasons. So, she needs to decide who it is she is trying to target here.</s>CHATTERLEY: Theresa May has entered the Houses of Commons here and she is speaking. Let's listen in.</s>THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: -- EU and the political declaration, setting out our future relationship after we have left. I've listened very carefully to what is being said in this chamber and out of it. To what has been said in this chamber and out of it. By members from all sides. From listening to those views, it is clear that while there is broad support for many of the key aspects of the deal, on one issue on one issue, the North Ireland backstop, there remains widespread and deep concern. As a result, if we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow, the deal would be a rejected by a significant margin. We will therefore defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow and not proceed to divide the House at this time. I set out in my speech opening the debate last week the reasons why the backstop is a necessary guarantee to the people of North Ireland. And why whatever future relationship you want, there is no deal available that does not include the backstop. Behind all of those arguments are some inescapable facts. The fact that North Ireland shares a land border with another sovereign state. The facts that the hard-won peace, the fact that the hard-won peace, that has been built in North Ireland, over the last two decades, has been built around a seamless border. And the fact that Brexit will create a wholly new situation. On the 30th of March, the North Ireland/Ireland border will, for the first time, become the external frontier of the European Union's single market and customs union. The challenge, the challenge this poses must be met, not with rhetoric, but with real and workable solutions. Businesses operate across that border, people live their lives crossing and re-crossing it every day. I've been there and spoken to some of those people. They do not want their everyday lives to change as a result of the decision we have taken. They do not want a return to our hard border. And if this House cares about preserving our union, it must listen to those people, because our union will only endure with their consent. We had hoped that the changes we've secured to the backstop would reassure members that we could never be trapped in it indefinitely. I hope the House will forgive me if I take a moment to remind it of those changes. The customs element of the backstop is now U.K.-wide. It no longer splits our country into two customs territories. This also means that the backstop is now an uncomfortable arrangement for the EU. So, they won't want it to come into use, or persist for long, if it does. Both sides are now eagerly committed to using best endeavors to have our new relationship in place before the end of the implementation period, ensuring the backstop is never used. If our new relationship isn't ready, we can now choose to extend the implementation period. Further reducing the likelihood of the backstop coming into use. If the backstop ever does come into use, we now don't have to get the new relationship in place, to get out of it. Alternative arrangements that make use of technology could be put in place instead. The treaty, the treaty is now clear, that the backstop can only ever be temporary, and there is now a termination clause. But I am clear, from what I have heard in this place, and from my own conversations, that these elements do not offer a sufficient number of colleagues the reassurance that they need. I spoke to a number of EU leaders over the weekend, and in advance of the European Counsel, I will go to see my counterparts in other member state, and the leadership of the Council and the Commission. I will discuss with them the clear concerns that this House has expressed. We are also looking closely, at new ways of empowering the House of Commons, to ensure that any provision for a backstop has democratic legitimacy and to enable the House to place its own obligations on the government, to enable the House to place its own obligations on the government, to ensure that the backstop cannot be in place indefinitely. Mr. Speaker, having spent the best part of two years poring over the detail of Brexit, listening to the public's ambitions and yes, their fears, too and testing the limits of what the other side is prepared to accept, I'm in absolutely no doubt that this deal is the right one. It honors the result of the referendum. It --</s>SPEAKER: The remainder of the statement must be heard and I invite the House to hear it with courtesy. And for the avoidance of that, also the benefit of those attending our proceedings who are not members of the House, I emphasize as per usual, I will call everyone who wants to question the Prime Minister, but meanwhile, please hear her. The Prime Minister.</s>MAY: It honors the result of the referendum. It protects job security and our union. But it also represents the very best deal that is actually negotiable with the EU. I believe, as do many members of this House, and I still believe there is a majority to be won in this House in support of it, if I can secure additional reinsurance on the question of the backstop. And that is what my focus will be in the days ahead. But Mr. Speaker, if you take a step back, it is clear that this House faces a much more fundamental question. Does this House want to deliver Brexit? And a clear message from the SMP, but if the House does, does it want to do so through reaching an agreement with the EU? If the answer is yes, and I believe that is the answer of the majority of this House, then we all have to ask ourselves, whether we are prepared to make a compromise. Because there will be no enduring and successful Brexit without some compromise on both sides of the debate. Many of the most controversial aspects of this deal, including the backstop, are simply inescapable facts of having a negotiated Brexit. Those members who continue to disagree need to shoulder the responsibility of advocating an alternative solution that can be delivered. And do so and do so without ducking its implications. So, if you want a second referendum, to overturn the result of the first, be honest, that this risks dividing the country again. Be honest that this risks dividing the country again when as a House, we should be striving to bring it back together. If you want to remain part of the single market and the customs union, be open that this would require free movement, rule taking across the economy, and ongoing financial contributions. None of which are in my view compatible with the result of the referendum. If you, if you want to leave without a deal, be upfront, that in the short- term, this would cause significant economic damage to parts of our country who can least afford to bear the burden. I do not believe that any of those courses of action command a majority in this House. But notwithstanding that fact, for as long as we fail to agree a deal, the risk of an accidental no deal increases. So, the government, so the government will step up its work in preparation for that potential outcome, and the cabinet will hold further discussions on it this week. The vast majority of us, Mr. Speaker, accept the result of the referendum and I want to leave with a deal. We have a responsibility to this charge. If we will the ends, we must also will the means. And I know that members across the House appreciate how important that responsibility is. And I'm very grateful to all members on this side of the House, and a few on the other side, too, who backs this deal and have spoken up for it. Many others I know have been wrestling with their consciences, particularly over the question of the backstop. Sees as the need to face up to the challenge posed by the Irish border but generally concerned about the consequences. I have listened. I have heard those concerns. And I will now do everything I possibly can to secure further assurances. If I may conclude, Mr. Speaker, on a personal note. On the morning after the referendum, two and a half years ago, I knew we had witnessed a defining moment for our democracy. Places that didn't get a lot of attention at elections, and which did not get much coverage on the news, were making their voices heard, and saying that they wanted things to change. I knew in that moment that Parliament had to deliver for them. But of course, that doesn't just mean delivering Brexit. It means working across all area, building a stronger economy, improving public services, tackling, tackling, tackling social injustices. To make this a country that truly works for everyone.</s>SPEAKER: The Prime Minister must be heard. The Prime Minister.</s>MAY: Tackling social injustices. To make this a country that truly works for everyone. A country where nowhere and nobody is left behind. And these matters are too important to be after-thoughts in our politics. They deserve to be at the center of our thinking. But that can only happen if we get Brexit done and get it done right. And even though I voted remain, from the moment I took up the responsibility of being Prime Minister of this great country, I've known that my duty is to honor the result of that vote. And I've been just as determined to protect the jobs that put food on the tables of working families and the security partnerships, and the security partnerships that keep each one of us safe. And that's what this deal does. It gives us control of our borders, our money, and our laws. It protects job security and our union. It is the right deal for Britain. I am determined to do all I can to secure the reassurances this House requires, to get this deal over the line, and deliver for the British people, and I commend this statement to the House.</s>SPEAKER: Jeremy Corbyn.</s>JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and I thank the Prime Minister for a copy of the statement before we met here this afternoon. We are in extremely serious and unprecedented situation. The government has lost control of events and is in complete disarray. It's been evident for weeks that the Prime Minister's deal did not have the confidence of this House. Yet she plowed on regardless reiterating this is the only deal available. Can she be clear with the House, is she seeking changes to the deal or mere reassurances? Does she therefore accept the statement from the European Commission at lunchtime, saying, that it was the only deal possible, we will not renegotiate our position has not changed. Ireland's Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has said it is not possible to renegotiate the Irish border backstop, stating that it was the Prime Minister's own red lines that made the backstop necessary. So, can the Prime Minister be clear, is she now ready to drop further red lines in order to make progress? Mr. Speaker, can the Prime Minister confirm that the deal presented to this House is not off the table, but will be re-presented with a few assurances. 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. Mr. Speaker, 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. The real, the deal, the deal damages our economy, and it isn't just the opposition saying that. The government's own analysis shows this deal would make us worse off. If the Prime Minister cannot be clear that she can and will renegotiate a deal, then she must make way. And if she is, and Mr. Speaker, if she is going back to Brussels, then she needs to build a consensus in this House. And since it appears business has changed for the next two days, then it seems not only possible but necessary that this House debates the negotiating mandate that the Prime Minister takes to Brussels. There is no point, no point at all, in this Prime Minister, bringing back the same deal again, which clearly does not support the -- is not supported by this House. Mr. Speaker, we have endured two years of shambolic negotiation. Red lines which have been boldly announced then cast aside. We are now on our third Brexit Secretary. And it appears even one of them has been excluded from these vital negotiations. We are promised a precise and substantive document, and got a vague, 26-page wish list. And have become the first government ever in British history to be held in contempt of Parliament. The government is in disarray. Uncertainty is building for business. People are in despair at the state of these failed negotiations. And concern about what it means about their jobs, their livelihood, and their communities. And the fault for that lies solely at the door of this shambolic government. The Prime Minister is trying to buy herself one last chance to save this deal. If she doesn't take on board the fundamental changes required, then she must make way for those who can.</s>MAY: If I can respond fairly briefly to the right honorable gentleman. The right honorable gentleman appeared to argue on one hand that it wasn't possible to change the deal because the EU had said this is the only deal. And on the other hand, that the only thing he would accept was the deal being renegotiated. So, the right honorable gentleman quoted the European Union as saying this was the only deal, and then goes on to say that the whole deal needs to be renegotiated. This is, the fundamental question, that members of this House have to ask themselves, is whether they wish to deliver Brexit, and honor the result of the referendum. If you wish to -- all of the analysis shows, that if you wish to deliver Brexit, if you wish to honor the result of the referendum, then the deal does that, that best protects jobs and our economy, is the deal that is on, that the government has put forward. That --</s>SPEAKER: Everybody will have his or her chance. But the questions have been put, and the answers must similarly be heard. The Prime Minister.</s>MAY: That is the fundamental question for members of this House. To deliver on and honor the result of the referendum. But to do it in a way that protects jobs and our economy. And that is what this deal does. The right honorable gentleman talks about a number of issues. He wants to be in the customs union, such that free movement would have to, and the single market and free movement would have to be accepted. He refuses to accept that any deal requires a backstop, because that is our commitment to the people of North Ireland. He claims he wants to negotiate trade deal, yet wants to be in the customs union, fully in the customs union, that will not enable us to negotiate those trade deal. And finally, he says about the uncertainty, he says about uncertainty for British business, I can tell the right honorable gentleman, that the biggest uncertainty for British business lies not in this deal, but on the front bench of the Labour Party.</s>SPEAKER: Order, order. Before I look to the father of the House, and then other colleagues, I want to say the following. Whether the government's intention to hold this debate, this inordinately late stage, has been widely leaked to the media in advance, I felt it only appropriate to hear what is proposed before advising the House. Holding the debate after no fewer than 164 colleagues have taken the trouble to contribute will be thought by many members of this House to be deeply discourteous. Indeed, in the hours since news of this intention emerged, many colleagues from across the House have registered that view to me, in the most forceful terms. Having taken the best procedural advice, colleagues should be informed that there are two ways of doing this. The first, and the democratic term, the infinitely preferable way is for a minister to move at the outset of the debate that the debate be adjourned. This will give the House the opportunity to express its view in a vote. Whether or not it wishes the debate to be brought to a premature and inconclusive end. I can reassure ministers that I would be happy to accept such a motion, so that the House can decide. The alternative is for the government unilaterally to decline to move today's business, which means that the House is not only deprived of its opportunity to vote upon the substance of the debate tomorrow, but also that it is given no chance to express its view today, on whether the debate should or should not be allowed to continue. I politely suggest that in any courteous respectful and mature environment, allowing the House to have a say, its say, on this matter, would be the right and dare I say the obvious course to take. Let us see if those who have assured this House and the public over and over and over again, that this supremely important vote is going to take place tomorrow, without fail, wish to rise, to the occasion. Mr. Kenneth Clark.</s>KENNETH CLARKE, CONSERVATIVE MP, RUSHCLIFFE: Mr. Speaker, on the question of Europe, this House is not just divided of parties, it is divided into factions and it becomes clear at the moment there is no predictable majority for any single course of action going forward. So, would my right honorable friend the Prime Minister agree, that no other governments are going to start negotiations with us on any new arrangement, whilst the British continue to explore what exactly it is, they can get a Parliamentary majority to agree to. Furthermore, we are strictly bound, quite rightly, to the Good Friday Agreement and the issue of a permanently open border in Ireland. So, does she agree that it is particularly folly for a large faction in this House to continue further the argument -- that argument, that we should insist to the other governments that the British will have a unilateral right to declare an end to that open border at the time their choosing, which is why the backstop remains inevitable.</s>MAY: I will say to my right honorable and learned friend that I certainly agree. I think none of the alternative arrangements that have been floated and suggested in this House, actually would command a majority of this House. But he is also right that we retain our absolute commitment to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, and to the commitments with the United Kingdom government made, within that agreement. And any agreement which had to be, was being negotiated with the European Union, be that either of the other two options that are normally quoted, the Norway option of some form, or the Canada option of some form. Would require negotiation, could risk the possibility of there being a period of time when that relationship was not in place, and therefore would indeed require a backstop.</s>SPEAKER: Kirsty Blackman.</s>KIRSTY BLACKMAN, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY MP, ABERDEEN NORTH: I would like to thank the Prime Minister in advanced for the statement and thank you Prime Minister for benefit of your words in relation on how this can proceed. The events of past few hours have highlighted that this is a government in a total state of collapse. The Prime Minister has been forced to kill tomorrow's vote in a stunning display of pathetic cowardice. The vote tomorrow night would have showed the will of this House but this government is focused on saving the Prime Minister's job and her party instead of doing what is right for this country. She is abdicating her responsibility. Her deal will make people poorer. It will lead to years of further uncertainty and difficult negotiations with no guarantee that a trade deal can even be struck. It does not have the support of her back benches. Indeed, no support from the majority of benches across this place. No support from the Scottish Parliament. And no support from the Welsh. Why has it taken the Prime Minister this long to face up to reality? Her deal was dead in the water long before this morning. Last week, it was this deal or no deal. She now needs to be clear with this House about what has changed. Mr. Speaker, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. But yet again, our views are being ignored. As they have been throughout this disastrous and incompetent Brexit process. Back in 2014, Scotland was promised the strength and security of the U.K. but the reality has been Westminster collapse and chaos. We were promised an equal partnership. But we have been treated with contempt. Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of her own benches and she has failed to convince this House of her plan for exiting the EU. We simply cannot go on like this. It is clear that the Prime Minister is incapable of taking decision about the future and that Downing Street cannot negotiate any more, either with the EU or with the 20 back benches. What she is really scared of is allowing this House to determine the way forward. And allowing the public the opportunity to remain in the EU. She knows she has lost, but she is still wasting precious time. Mr. Speaker, we need the Prime Minister to be clear about when the House will vote on this deal. This government, and the Prime Minister, have failed. It's time they got out of the way. Prime Minister, members across this House, don't want your deal. The EU don't want to renegotiate. Isn't the only way to break this deadlock, to bring it to the people.</s>MAY: The honorable lady asked what I have been doing. Actually, what I have been doing is listening to members of this House who have identified a very specific concern with the deal as it -- with the deal that was negotiated. As I said, we had negotiated within that deal a number of aspects to address the issue around the permanent or otherwise at the backstop. END