Yahoo News Brexit deal latest: 'Humiliating' day for government as Theresa May puts brakes on Commons vote
Theresa May’s critics have savaged her “humiliating” decision to delay the Commons vote on her Brexit deal, deriding her for making the UK look “foolish” and adding “the whole world is laughing at us”.
The PM called off Tuesday’s vote, blaming division over the Irish backstop, to avoid defeat on an unprecedented scale that could have proved fatal to her premiership.
Mrs May confirmed the move in a statement to the Commons after a day of disarray and conflicting signals.
Her critics rounded on her on Monday evening, with Eurosceptic Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg saying the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit had now increased.
He said: "I think we should aim for managed no-deal.
"But, I've made clear and I'll happily reiterate we need a new Prime Minister to do that.
"If you look at today this is the failure of the Prime Minister's policy. The Withdrawal Agreement was her policy."
Asked if his cause had been advanced by the day's events, Mr Rees-Mogg added: "I think it's been a damaging day for the Conservative Party, which is a major part of my cause.
“I think it's been a humiliating day for the country, which is an even more important part of my cause.
"But, does it mean that it's more likely we will leave the European Union without a withdrawal agreement, then yes. So, one little bit of my cause has been advanced, but two primary bits have been damaged.
"This is not a good day for the Conservative Party or the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom looks foolish on the world stage."
Boris Johnson said the backstop should be removed from the withdrawal agreement.
He tweeted: “We are told that the EU does not even like the backstop. Well, if the EU doesn’t like it, and the UK government doesn’t like it, and the British people don’t like it, why on earth is it there? Let us get rid of it and move on.”
Nigel Farage said on his LBC show: “My recent experiences of life in the EU is they are laughing at us, I think the whole world is laughing at us.
“I think today and the way that it played out, the whole thing is a national humiliation.”
Tory MP Mark Francois said: “The whole House wanted to debate this, we wanted to vote on it, the people expected us to vote on it and the government have gone away and hidden in the toilets.
However Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, came out in support of Mrs May’s move.
Asked if her position was safe for now, he told the BBC: "I think lots of people have predicted the prime minister's downfall, they have been wrong when they have done so.
"Lots of people might go about making predictions in the other way.
"I think it's best to recognise we are in uncertain times. A very difficult point in British politics.
"But we have just seen the prime minister, I think doing the right thing.
"None of this is going to be easy in the coming weeks or months."
Mrs May is now expected travel to Europe to seek reassurances over the Northern Ireland backstop.
European Council President Donald Tusk said he had called a meeting of the council to discuss Brexit on Thursday and that the EU "will not renegotiate the deal including the backstop but is ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification".
He said: "The government has lost control of events and is in complete disarray." Labour later said it would table a motion of no confidence in the Government "when we judge it most likely to be successful".
Mrs May told MPs that "she had listened very carefully to what has been said" since the Commons debate on the deal began last week and that the vote will be deferred so that she can hold emergency talks with the EU leaders to discuss possible changes to the backstop.
She said she believed there was "a majority to be won" in the Commons on her deal, if she is able to "secure additional reassurance on the backstop".
