Prime
Minister :
On a point of order, Mr
Speaker,
I profoundly regret the
decision that this House has taken tonight.
I continue to believe that by
far the best outcome is that the UK leaves the EU in an orderly
fashion with a deal, and that the deal we have negotiated is the
best and indeed the only deal available.
Mr Speaker, I would like to set
out briefly how the Government means to proceed.
Two weeks ago, I made a series
of commitments from this despatch box regarding the steps we
would take in the event that this House rejected the deal on
offer. I stand by those commitments in full.
Therefore, tonight we will
table a motion for debate tomorrow to test whether the House
supports leaving the European Union without a deal on 29th
March.
The Leader of the House will
shortly make an emergency business statement confirming the
change to tomorrow’s business.
This is an issue of grave
importance for the future of our country. Just like the
referendum, there are strongly held and equally legitimate views
on both sides.
For that reason, I can confirm
that this will be a free vote on this side of the
House.
I have personally struggled
with this choice as I am sure many other Honourable Members
will. I am passionate about delivering the result of the
referendum. But I equally passionately believe that the
best way to do that is to leave in an orderly way with a deal and
I still believe there is a majority in the House for that course
of action. And I am conscious also of my duties as Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and of the potential damage to the Union that leaving
without a deal could do when one part of our country is without
devolved governance.
I can therefore confirm that
the motion will read:
“That this House declines to
approve leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement
and a Framework on the Future Relationship on 29 March 2019; and
notes that leaving without a deal remains the default in UK and
EU law unless this House and the EU ratify an agreement.”
I will return to the House to
open the debate tomorrow and to take interventions from
Honourable Members. And to ensure the House is fully
informed in making this historic decision, the Government will
tomorrow publish information on essential policies which would
need to be put in place if we were to leave without a deal. These
will cover our approach to tariffs and the Northern Ireland
border, among other matters.
If the House votes to leave
without a deal on 29 March, it will be the policy of the
Government to implement that decision.
If the House declines to
approve leaving without a deal on 29 March, the Government will,
following that vote, bring forward a motion on Thursday on
whether Parliament wants to seek an extension to article
50.
If the House votes for an
extension, the Government will seek to agree that extension with
the EU and bring forward the necessary legislation to change the
exit date commensurate with that extension.
But let me be clear. Voting
against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not
solve the problems we face.
The EU will want to know what
use we mean to make of such an extension.
This House will have to answer
that question. Does it wish to revoke Article 50?
Does it want to hold a second referendum? Or does it want
to leave with a deal but not this deal?
These are unenviable choices,
but thanks to the decision the House has made this evening they
must now be faced.
