EU assurances on Brexit: Prime Minister makes statement
14 January 2019 (updated on 14 January 2019)
Speaking to the House of Commons ahead of day four of the 'meaningful vote' debate, the Prime Minister gave a statement about letters from the European Union offering assurances relating to the proposed Northern Irish backstop.
In the opening to her statement, the Prime Minister laid out the assurances she has received from the European Union. She stated that she has secured a UK-wide temporary customs arrangement, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, and a customs border down the Irish sea.
Additionally, she said that the Government has negotiated substantial commitments in the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration to do everything possible to ensure the backstop will never be needed. In the event that the backstop was ever triggered, the Prime Minister assured the House it would only apply temporarily.
The Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, responded to the statement, referring to the Prime Minister's deferral of the vote on her deal in December 2018 as "shameful". He went on to say that the Prime Minister was representing "exactly the same position" as the one that was deferred a month ago.
- Read the letters between the Prime Minister and the EU [external]
- Watch Parliament TV: Leaving the EU
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