EU negotiator Michel Barnier warned MPs threatening to block the Brexit deal in Parliament to ‘take responsibility’ today as an historic summit to sign off the plan began.
Mr Barnier said that after the painstaking talks, the controversial divorce deal had to be agreed as the basis for rebuilding trust between Britain and Europe.
The 27 EU leaders will formally adopt the draft divorce deal and political declaration on the future trade deal.
But Theresa May faces an ‘impossible’ task to get the package through Parliament in early December.
As the PM launches her campaign for the vote, Mr Barnier said: ‘Now it is time for everybody to take their responsibility. This is a necessary step to build trust between the UK and EU.’
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU’s position would not change its ‘fundamental position’ and predicted the Commons would eventually endorse the deal.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the EU could not offer ‘anything more’ if the Commons votes down the deal as he arrived at the summit.
Lithuania’s president predicted Dalia Grybauskaite ‘anything could happen’ if the deal is voted down in the Commons, including a new referendum.
At today’s summit EU leaders are expected to strike a somber tone in Brussels and Mr Tusk has warned repeatedly the deal is a ‘damage limitation exercise’.
Mrs May will be more upbeat, insisting the two part agreement is the right one for Britain as she faces a bigger battle to make the case at home.
She wrote an open letter to the British public today appealing for support for her deal, insisting it meant a ‘brighter future’ for the country.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier (pictured in Brussels today) warned MPs threatening to block the Brexit deal in Parliament to ‘take responsibility’ today as an historic summit to sign off the plan began
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured arriving at the summit today) warned the EU could not offer ‘anything more’ if the Commons votes down the deal
A final breakthrough yesterday paved the way for today’s summit when Spain dropped its threat to vote against the deal. Madrid claimed Mrs May had caved in to demands to take Gibraltar out of UK-EU trade talks.
The PM insisted the UK’s position on Gibraltar had not changed, saying she would always ‘stand by’ its citizens, while the territory’s chief minister denied that Spain had secured new guarantees.
The agreement means Mrs May will take the completed deal back to Westminster for a Commons vote, expected early next month.
With a battle looming to win over Brexiteer MPs, Boris Johnson yesterday fired up the DUP – which has propped up Mrs May’s government but is set to vote against her – with a pot-stirring speech in which he savaged the PM’s ‘humiliating’ deal.
It has been claimed today that ministers are making ‘Plan B’ proposals for a new Brexit deal if Mrs May’s agreement is rejected by Parliament.
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (right) kisses the hand of Theresa May in Brussels last night, after Spain dropped its threat to veto the Brexit deal over the issue of Gibraltar
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed Theresa May in Brussels tonight ahead of todatsummit the Brexit deal
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, pictured at a news conference in Madrid today, withdrew his threat to boycott the EU summit on Sunday amid a row over Gibraltar
As EU leaders arrived, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite predicted there could still be an 11th hour reversal after today’s summit.
She said: ‘Everything could happen, at least four possible scenarios could be in place, but it’s up to the British side to decide what path to choose.
‘It could be a second vote of the people, it could be new elections, it could be a request for renegotiations, there is at least four scenarios, I calculate,’
Mrs May met EU leaders Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk ahead of the summit, although diplomats say the agreement is ready for EU leaders to approve.
It should mean today’s events in Brussels are a formality.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez earlier withdrew his threat to boycott the EU summit on Sunday and said Spain will vote in favour of Brexit after clinching a last-minute deal on Gibraltar.
The row over the British territory at the southern tip of Spain had threatened to derail the Brexit deal.
Madrid has insisted on keeping the issue under its control in bilateral talks with London rather than leaving Brussels to decide its future in a UK-EU trade deal.
Mr Sanchez announced that Brussels and the UK had ‘accepted Spain’s demands’, providing Madrid with what was described in Spanish media as ‘triple protection’.
The triple shield is said to consist of guarantees from EU bosses Juncker and Tusk; the 27 remaining member states; and the UK, according to The Local.
‘I have just announced to the King that Spain has reached an agreement on Gibraltar,’ Mr Sanchez told a news conference.
‘The European Council will therefore be held tomorrow. Spain has lifted the veto and will vote in favour of Brexit.’
Madrid’s foreign minister Josep Borrell went further, saying the agreement is ‘highly positive for Spain’ and ‘the most important’ since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 under which Gibraltar was ceded to the UK.
Britain has agreed that bilateral talks will continue with Spain on the future of Gibraltar.
But Mrs May and Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo cast doubt on Madrid’s claim it had won new guarantees.
Speaking in Brussels Mrs May said: ‘We have worked through the withdrawal issues for Gibraltar with Spain in a constructive and sensible way.
‘We have ensured that Gibraltar is covered by the whole Withdrawal Agreement and by the implementation period and we will always negotiate on behalf of the whole UK family, including Gibraltar, and in the future relationship we will stand up for their interests.
‘The UK’s position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar has not changed and will not change. I am proud that Gibraltar is British and I will always stand by Gibraltar.’
Gibraltar is a British territory claimed by Spain and a bone of contention as London negotiates a new relationship with Brussels after Brexit on March 29
Mr Picardo said: ‘What you have heard from the Spanish Prime Minister today was not a reflection of any new position, however much he tried to present it as such.
‘Pedro Sanchez has achieved no guarantees whatsoever in respect of the future of Gibraltar.
‘But I can guarantee Pedro Sanchez one thing in respect of the future of Gibraltar: It is an entirely British future that will suffer no dilution.
As Mr Sanchez was speaking, European Council president Mr Tusk issued a letter inviting leaders of EU member states to approve the deal at Sunday’s summit.
‘I will recommend that on Sunday we approve the outcome of the Brexit negotiations,’ he said, saying the deal on the table reduces ‘the risks and losses resulting from the United Kingdom’s withdrawal.’
He said: ‘Although no-one will have reasons to be happy on that day, there is one thing I would like to stress: at this critical time, the EU27 has passed the test of unity and solidarity.’
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake claimed the Prime Minister had ‘caved in’ and ‘appears to have cast the people of Gibraltar aside’.
After battling to an agreement with Brussels Mrs May now faces a fierce battle to steer her deal through the House of Commons.
She has so far survived an attempted coup from Tory backbenchers but a defeat in Parliament could trigger a no-confidence vote or general election.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that ministers are secretly preparing a backup ‘Norway option’ as an alternative if Mrs May’s deal is voted down.
That deal would reportedly create a more definite exit mechanism from EU rules, but would not allow an end to free movement.
In a sign of the trouble she faces, her former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson spoke at the DUP conference to demand the scrapping of the Irish backstop.
The DUP has propped up Mrs May’s government since she lost her majority at last year’s election but the alliance has come under strain over the Brexit deal and the party has suggested it will vote against the agreement.
Mr Johnson said yesterday: ‘Unless we junk this backstop, we will find that Brussels has got us exactly where they want us – a satellite state.
He warned the draft Brexit deal is in danger of turning Northern Ireland into an ‘economic semi-colony’ of the EU.
The backstop proposal would see Northern Ireland adopt a different regulatory regime to Great Britain in the event a wider UK-EU trade deal fails to materialise in talks on the future relationship.
DUP leader Arlene Foster told delegates that while she believes Theresa May is ‘genuine’ in her desire to protect the Union, the draft deal fails to do that.
A Gibraltar housing minister also spoke at the DUP conference demanding that Spain be given no hope of taking away its sovereignty in Brexit talks.
Samantha Sacramento insisted that Gibraltar will not be ‘bullied’ by any bid from Madrid to undermine its sovereignty.
Samantha Sacramento (left), Minister for Housing and Equality in the Government of Gibraltar met with DUP Party Leader, Arlene Foster (right), during the party’s annual conference at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Belfast
Ms Sacramento gave a rousing address in which she said it was critical the United Kingdom ensures Spain does not make attempts to remove its sovereignty
She was applauded as she told DUP conference delegates in the Crown Plaza Hotel: ‘Gibraltar will not fold.
‘The Union Jack, our precious Union Jack, is not a mere flag. To those of us who have endured hard times to secure the continuity of our British heritage, our British values and freedoms, the Union Jack encapsulates all we are as a people.’
Ms Sacramento said Gibraltar was committed to making Brexit work, despite the fact that 96 per cent of its citizens voted Remain.
‘It is critical that the United Kingdom remains firm in the defence of our right to self-determination and that Spain is given no hope in its campaign to take our sovereignty from us,’ she told the DUP faithful.
‘Our borders and our history are very different but our solidarity in defence of our democratic right to preserve our British way of life is unshakeable.’
She concluded: ‘Gibraltar greatly appreciates the support that the DUP has expressed in support of Gibraltar and its right to remain British and, as my chief minister so often says, we are red, white and blue, we are red, white and proud.’
Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted the proposed EU withdrawal deal is in the interests of ‘the whole UK family’, including Gibraltar.
The DUP’s Nigel Dodds also savaged the deal, saying: ‘The DUP wants a deal with the European Union, we understand that businesses, families and communities want certainty.
‘But it is not this deal. It is not a deal at any price. The prime minister used to say that. We still say that.
‘So Prime Minister, the message from this conference, from every section of this party is – bin the backstop.’
The rock of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, historically claimed by Spain, is seen from the Spanish city of La Linea de la Concepcion, southern Spain, this morning. Last night Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ramped up pressure on Theresa May insisting he be given more concessions over the land
He added: ‘In the coming weeks Parliament will be faced with a clear choice on the future of our country.
‘To be a free independent trading nation leaving the EU as one United Kingdom or to be locked into an EU straitjacket, divided and diminished.
‘The published Withdrawal Agreement portrays a pitiful and pathetic place for the United Kingdom.
‘Hundreds of pages are devoted to a backstop which will bind the United Kingdom into taking the rules of the EU with no right to leave and no end date.’
On Thursday Mr Tusk sent a draft of the political declaration to the EU 27 countries.
The document sets out the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
It has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level.
The Withdrawal Agreement is the 585-page legal text that sets out the terms of the UK’s departure.
Among its contents are arrangements for the contentious Northern Ireland backstop and the £39 billion ‘divorce bill’.
The declaration states how trade, security and other issues will work in broader terms.
In an interview with BBC’s Emma Barnett on Friday Mrs refused to say if she would quit if she fails to win backing for her deal.
She said the deal would protect jobs and allow Britain to get on with Brexit in March.
But asked repeatedly whether she will resign if she loses in the Commons – as seems inevitable – Mrs May swerved the question to insist: ‘No… I’m focusing on ensuring that we get this deal through Parliament.
‘I believe this is absolutely the right deal for the UK. This is not about me.’
Theresa May met separately with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured) and president of the European Council, Donald Tusk
Deputy Leader of the DUP Nigel Dodds told the party conference in Belfast today that it was ‘not too late for the Prime Minister to change course’
Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster greets UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond as he arrives to speak at the DUP party conference yesterday. He defended the draft Brexit agreement as good for the country
Theresa May ‘to announce curbs on low-skilled migrants’ in last-ditch bid to get hardline Brexiteers to back her EU deal
Theresa May is set to announce limits on low-skilled immigration to Britain in a bid to get her Brexit deal through the Commons, it was claimed last night.
According to leaked Cabinet papers, the Home Office has drawn up plans to issue low-skilled migrants with 11-month visas.
Theresa May (pictured) is set to announce limits on low-skilled immigration to Britain in a bid to get her Brexit deal through the Commons, it was claimed last night
The new visas would reportedly offer ‘restricted entitlements and rights’ while they are living in the UK, the Telegraph reported.
The Government will abolish the cap on highly skilled ‘tier 2’ migrants entirely, the report said, with the plans set out in the week beginning December 3.
That would be a week before the crunch vote on the Brexit agreement is expected in the Commons.
Immigration was a key theme in the referendum with Leave campaigners promising to end free movement between EU countries and Britain.
Also speaking today, Chancellor Philip Hammond claimed that Britain’s draft deal to leave the European Union is the best available solution to safeguard the economy and start to reunite a divided country.
‘This deal is a way of Britain leaving the European Union … with minimum negative impact on our economy,’ Hammond told the BBC.
‘The only thing that is holding the economy back at the moment is uncertainty about our relationship with the European Union,’ he added.
‘If we were to leave the EU without a deal I have no doubt that the consequences for the economy would be very serious indeed, very disruptive and very negative for jobs, for prosperity in the future.’ Hammond, who met DUP leader Arlene Foster on Friday, defended the agreement as good for a country where divisions have been exposed by the June 2016 EU referendum.
‘Remaining in the EU after a clear referendum decision to leave EU would be utterly debilitating to our politics, it would completely undermine confidence in the political system and leave large numbers of people feeling betrayed,’ he said.
‘We also have to look at the political healing process, bringing our country back together, because (…) countries that are disunited and divided are not successful countries.’
The chancellor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he believed the deal on offer was better for the UK than remaining in the EU, stressing that it would help heal the divisions caused by Brexit.
‘It’s a way of leaving the European Union with minimum negative impact on our economy,’ he said.
‘Economics is not the only consideration – we also have to look at the political healing process, bringing our country back together because countries that are disunited and divided are not successful countries.
‘If we want this country to be successful in the future, we have got to bring it back together after this process.’
He warned that a no-deal Brexit would unleash ‘economic chaos’, adding: ‘If the meaningful vote is lost we are in uncharted territory. We will be faced with potential economic chaos; I am sure we would get a very negative reaction from the business community, from investors, from the markets.
He added ‘we might end up with no deal, we might end up with no Brexit’ if the Withdrawal Agreement is blocked by Parliament.
Is May’s deal already sunk? Eighty nine Tories have already come out against it meaning she must find more than 90 votes from Brexiteer rebels, DUP and Labour to get it through the Commons
Theresa May has secured her deal in Brussels but her fight to get it actually in place in time for Brexit day is just beginning.
The ‘meaningful vote’ promised to MPs is expected to happen in early December and is the single biggest hurdle to the Brexit deal happening – and Mrs May’ fate as PM.
Mrs May needs at least 318 votes in the Commons if all 650 MPs turns up – but can probably only be confident of around 230 votes.
The number is less than half because the four Speakers, 7 Sinn Fein MPs and four tellers will not take part.
The situation looks grim for Mrs May and her whips: now the deal has been published, 89 of her own MPs and the 10 DUP MPs have publicly stated they will join the Opposition parties in voting No.
This means the PM could have as few as 225 votes in her corner – leaving 410 votes on the other side, a landslide majority 185.
This is how the House of Commons might break down:
Mrs May needs at least 318 votes in the Commons if all 650 MPs turns up – but can probably only be confident of around 230 votes.
Mrs May needs at least 318 votes in the Commons if all 650 MPs turns up – but can probably only be confident of around 230 votes.
The Government (plus various hangers-on)
Who are they: All members of the Government are the so-called ‘payroll’ vote and are obliged to follow the whips orders or resign. It includes the Cabinet, all junior ministers, the whips and unpaid parliamentary aides.
There are also a dozen Tory party ‘vice-chairs and 17 MPs appointed by the PM to be ‘trade envoys’.
How many of them are there? 178.
What do they want? For the Prime Minister to survive, get her deal and reach exit day with the minimum of fuss.
Many junior ministers want promotion while many of the Cabinet want to be in a position to take the top job when Mrs May goes.
How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.
European Research Group Brexiteers demanding a No Confidence Vote
Who are they: The most hardline of the Brexiteers, they launched a coup against Mrs May after seeing the divorce. Led by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker.
How many of them are there: 26
What do they want: The removal of Mrs May and a ‘proper Brexit’. Probably no deal now, with hopes for a Canada-style deal later.
How will they vote: Against the Prime Minister.
Other Brexiteers in the ERG
Who are they: There is a large block of Brexiteer Tory MPs who hate the deal but have so far stopped short of moving to remove Mrs May – believing that can destroy the deal instead. They include ex Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex minister Owen Paterson.
Ex ministers like Boris Johnson and David Davis are also in this group – they probably want to replace Mrs May but have not publicly moved against her.
How many of them are there? Around 50.
What do they want? The ERG has said Mrs May should abandon her plans for a unique trade deal and instead negotiate a ‘Canada plus plus plus’ deal.
This is based on a trade deal signed between the EU and Canada in August 2014 that eliminated 98 per cent of tariffs and taxes charged on goods shipped across the Atlantic.
The EU has long said it would be happy to do a deal based on Canada – but warn it would only work for Great Britain and not Northern Ireland.
How will they vote: Against the Prime Minister.
Remain including the People’s Vote supporters
Who are they: Tory MPs who believe the deal is just not good enough for Britain. They include the group of unrepentant Remainers who want a new referendum like Anna Soubry and ex-ministers who quit over the deal including Jo Johnson and Phillip Lee.
How many of them are there: Maybe around 10.
What do they want? To stop Brexit. Some want a new referendum, some think Parliament should step up and say no.
A new referendum would take about six months from start to finish and they group wants Remain as an option on the ballot paper, probably with Mrs May’s deal as the alternative.
How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister.
Moderates in the Brexit Delivery Group (BDG) and other Loyalists
Who are they? A newer group, the BDG counts members from across the Brexit divide inside the Tory Party. It includes former minister Nick Boles and MPs including Remainer Simon Hart and Brexiteer Andrew Percy.
There are also lots of unaligned Tory MPs who are desperate to talk about anything else.
How many of them are there? Based on public declarations, about 48 MPs have either said nothing or backed the deal.
What do they want? The BDG prioritises delivering on Brexit and getting to exit day on March 29, 2019, without destroying the Tory Party or the Government. If the PM gets a deal the group will probably vote for it.
It is less interested in the exact form of the deal but many in it have said Mrs May’s Chequers plan will not work.
Mr Boles has set out a proposal for Britain to stay in the European Economic Area (EEA) until a free trade deal be negotiated – effectively to leave the EU but stay in close orbit as a member of the single market.
How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.
The DUP
Who are they? The Northern Ireland Party signed up to a ‘confidence and supply’ agreement with the Conservative Party to prop up the Government.
They are Unionist and say Brexit is good but must not carve Northern Ireland out of the Union.
How many of them are there? 10.
What do they want? A Brexit deal that protects Northern Ireland inside the UK.
How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister on the grounds they believe the deal breaches the red line of a border in the Irish Sea.
Labour Loyalists
Who are they? Labour MPs who are loyal to Jeremy Corbyn and willing to follow his whipping orders.
How many of them are there? Up to 250 MPs depending on exactly what Mr Corbyn orders them to do.
What do they want? Labour policy is to demand a general election and if the Government refuses, ‘all options are on the table’, including a second referendum.
Labour insists it wants a ‘jobs first Brexit’ that includes a permanent customs union with the EU. It says it is ready to restart negotiations with the EU with a short extension to the Article 50 process.
The party says Mrs May’s deal fails its six tests for being acceptable.
How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister’s current deal.
Labour Rebels
Who are they? A mix of MPs totally opposed to Mr Corbyn’s leadership, some Labour Leave supporters who want a deal and some MPs who think any deal will do at this point.
How many of them are there? Maybe 10 to 20 MPs but this group is diminishing fast – at least for the first vote on the deal.
What do they want? An orderly Brexit and to spite Mr Corbyn.
How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.
Other Opposition parties
Who are they? The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Green Caroline Lucas and assorted independents.
How many of them are there? About 60 MPs.
How will they vote? Mostly against the Prime Minister – though two of the independents are suspended Tories and two are Brexiteer former Labour MPs.