Theresa May has revealed a 26-page draft text setting out the UK’s future relationship with the European Union, after UK and EU officials agreed to it in principle on Thursday.
The Prime Minister delivered a statement in the House of Commons at 15:00 (GMT) on Wednesday after meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday evening in Brussels. Mrs May said that she had ‘good discussions’ with the European Commision President, though the political declaration was not agreed until Thursday.
Theresa May said in her statement that the declaration is a “good deal for our country and our partners in the EU” and that the agreement “honours the vote of the British people” in the 2016 EU referendum. May mentioned briefly the contents of the text, in particular, that the UK would be leaving the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy.
The 26-page document, along with the 585 draft withdrawal agreement published last week, should set out the premise for the UK’s departure from the European Union. The agreement is due to be voted on by the EU this Sunday, before it will then go in front of MPs for a vote in Parliament back in the UK.
Following her statement, Theresa May faced opposition from all sides.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, described the 26-page document as “waffle” and the “worst of all worlds”.
“These 26 pages are a testament to the failure of the Tories’ bungle negotiations” – Labour leader @jeremycorbyn responds to @theresa_may at the Commons.
Follow it live here: https://t.co/gSuHXgq70G pic.twitter.com/CxFt2NYxGg
— Sky News (@SkyNews) 22 November 2018
Meanwhile, Ian Blackford of the SNP accused the Prime Minister of bringing back a deal which sees “Scotland’s fishing rights thrown overboard as if they were discarded fish”.
Theresa May did get some positive comments, notably from Damian Green who praised May, but many other MPs expressed different views.
The former foreign secretary and key Brexiteer, Boris Johnson, made his thoughts vocal following the PM’s statement this afternoon. https://t.co/L188wBbeRT
— The Speaker (@speakerpolitics) 22 November 2018
The letter has got longer and yet remains a wish list. The #PoliticalDeclaration still reads like a #LettertoSanta. It does not deliver what was promised by Vote Leave in 2016. The case for a #PeoplesVote continues to grow. The British public must be given a #finalsay on #Brexit https://t.co/mvu9QQxX7S
— Dr Phillip Lee MP (@DrPhillipLeeMP) 22 November 2018
If the final draft #PoliticalDeclaration was a contract to buy a house or a fridge, there isn’t a lawyer in the country who’d advise you to sign it. Because you might end up with a tent and a cool-box, and there’ll be nothing you can do about it. https://t.co/FH6Wok7auV
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) 22 November 2018
Read our analysis of what the Brexit agreements mean here.
