Theresa May announces draft Brexit deal done
Hard-Brexit Tories and DUP call for ministers to block proposed withdrawal agreement
Theresa May has called a special cabinet meeting for later today, after UK and EU officials reached an agreement on the draft text of a Brexit deal.
After months of tortuous negotiations, May will seek cabinet ministers’ backing of the draft text at a 2pm meeting, following a series of one-on-one meetings between the PM and senior ministers at Downing Street last night.
Ministers were given the chance to look over key elements of the agreement, but were forbidden from taking any of the documentation out of the building in an attempt to minimise leaks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the exact details of the 500-page agreement are not yet known, the BBC is reporting that the agreement includes provisions “to guarantee there will not be physical border checks reintroduced in Northern Ireland”, which had become one of the major stumbling blocks of the deal.
Several key hard-Brexit Tories have called for the agreement to be blocked, The Guardian reports, with former foreign secretary Boris Johnson describing the deal as “vassal state stuff”, which would see the UK “bound by laws over which it had no say, which was ‘utterly unacceptable’”.
DUP leader Nigel Dodds has also already indicated that his party, which currently props up the May government, considers the agreement unworkable on the basis that it “appears to be a UK-wide customs agreement but [with] deeper implications for Northern Ireland both on customs and single market”.
The meeting later today could well be the ultimate test of May’s prime ministership, with her party unlikely to continue to back her as leader should she present an agreement that cabinet rejects.
May might have made it to the end of the day without losing any cabinet ministers, but there are “fresh question marks” over Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, The Times says, after what many on both sides of the Brexit debate will consider a “betrayal” by the prime minister.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The mental health crisis affecting vets
Under The Radar Death of Hampshire vet highlights mental health issues plaguing the industry
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Onion is having a very ironic laugh with Infowars
The Explainer The satirical newspaper is purchasing the controversial website out of bankruptcy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Was Georgia's election stolen?
Today's Big Question The incumbent Georgian Dream party seized a majority in the disputed poll, defying predictions
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Moldova backs joining EU in close vote marred by Russia
Speed Read The country's president was also pushed into a runoff election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why is Germany cracking down on migration?
Today's Big Question New border rules test the European Union
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published