Exiting the European Union Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Exiting the European Union

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts
Monday 10th December 2018

(5 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Theresa May Portrait The Prime Minister
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Hon. Members of this House will need to face the fact that there will be a choice between a deal, no deal and no Brexit—[Interruption.] Between a deal—a deal—no deal and no Brexit. There is no majority in this House for any of the alternative arrangements that have been put forward by Members of this House.

Daniel Zeichner Portrait Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
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The Prime Minister told us earlier that she had been listening, but I am afraid she has been a touch selective in what she has actually heard, because it is not just about the backstop. Will she level with the country and tell people that the political declaration is not actually a deal, but a series of shared aspirations, and the negotiations are likely to drag on for years and years?

Theresa May Portrait The Prime Minister
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The political declaration makes it very clear that what will be negotiated will give effect to what is in the political declaration. If you like, it is instructions to the negotiators. What is also clear within the deal that has been agreed is that both sides will use their best endeavours, acting in good faith, to achieve that negotiation by the end of December 2020.