No Script

Please Wait...

Ramadan Kareem...

UK PM May Face Mounting Domestic Opposition from London, Brussels

UK PM May Face Mounting Domestic Opposition from London, Brussels
folder_openEurope... access_time5 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy came under attack from all sides on Monday, increasing the risk that her plan for leaving the EU will be voted down by parliament and thrust the United Kingdom towards a potentially chaotic "no-deal" Brexit.

Less than five months before Britain is due to leave the European Union on March 29, negotiators are still haggling over a backup plan for the land border between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, if they fail to clinch a deal.

Asked if there was any chance May's plan could pass parliament, former education minister Justine Greening, who supported staying in the European Union, said "no."

"I think it's the worst of all worlds," Greening she told BBC radio. "It leaves us with less influence, less controls over the rules we have to follow."

Sterling plunged to a 1-1/2 week low of $1.2841 as the dollar strengthened broadly and doubts grew over May's ability to clinch a Brexit deal and get it passed.

Traders cited a report by the Independent newspaper that May had been forced to cancel an emergency cabinet meeting to approve a draft deal. A government source later said no cabinet meeting had ever been scheduled for Monday.

It is unlikely that there will be a breakthrough in negotiations this month, with any deal probably pushed back into December, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said Monday.

"We are waiting for new news from London... We have time, but not so much. For this month, it's very difficult to make real progress, but before Christmas I'm hoping that it will be possible," Reynders told reporters before a meeting of national ministers on Brexit in Brussels.

EU leaders had previously penciled in a summit for November to sign off on a deal with London as long as there was decisive progress. However, Brussels and London cannot agree how to guarantee there is no return of border controls on the frontier between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments