'Am I going to see this through? Yes' - says embattled May

Embattled UK Prime Minsiter Theresa May has claimed she has made the "right decisions, not the easy ones" as she defended her Brexit deal during a day of turmoil, resignations and a falling currency.

During a press conference in Downing Street this afternoon Mrs May insisted that "this is a Brexit which delievers on the key priorities of the UK."
She accepted that the compromise package involved "difficult and uncomfortable decisions", but stressed that the deal is "in the national interest". 

She warned that not progressing the negotiated deal would result in "deep and grave uncertainty". 

Asked if she would stay on if she wins a vote of confidence by a slender majority, Mrs May replied strongly: "Am I going to see this through? Yes."

Given the overwhelming disdain for the proposed Brexit deal voiced from the floor of the House of Commons, political commentators and MPs are united in surmising that she cannot achieve the numbers required for her deal to get past the Commons.

Asked in Parliament if she will step aside to allow for the appointment of a leader who can unite the country, Mrs May curtly responded: 'No.'

Her political future however may already have been determined however after an emergency meeting of the Brexiteer wing of her party, the European Research Group (ERG) was held earlier this afternoon.

During his question to Ms May in the Commons, arch-Brexiteer and chair of the ERG Jacob Rees-Moog wondered allowed: "Since what my right honourable friend says and what my right honourable friend does no longer match, should I not write to my right honourable friend, the member for Altrincham and Sale West?" 

Delivered with a stony face, his question was a euphemism for calling for her resignation, as the MP for Altrincham and Sale West referred to is Graham Brady, who sits on the executive of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee.

Mr Rees-Mogg subequently followed through with the threat.

They need 48 Tory MPs to submit letters to force a vote of confidence within the Conservative Party. Mrs May would then need a straight majority of Tories to win to retain her leadership role. Any change of leader would not alter the parliamentary arithmetic however, and the Tories would still face the same tortured route of a deal through the House of Commons. 

It's possible that yet more cabinet members will also tender their resignations today.

In a press conference (pictured below) he did however rule himself out as a future leader, volunteering a number of names, including Dominic Raab's as a suitable candidate.

Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey both resigned in the hour before Ms May began her address to parliament. They have been joined by junior Brexit minister Suella Braverman, Junior Northern Ireland minister Shailesh Vara, and  PPS to the Education Ministers to the Prime Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

Hardline Brexiteer Michael Gove has reportedly been offered the vacant Brexit secretary position. Mr Gove had stood for the leadership contest when former Prime Minister David Cameron stood aside in the aftermath of the 2016 vote to leave, only to lose out to Ms May. 

 

Half baked

In an impassioned speech to the House of Commons, Ms May insisted that the proposed deal was in the best interests of the people of all of the UK. 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted that Ms May "must withdraw this haf baked deal, which it is clear doesn't have the backing of the cabinet, this parliament or the country as a whole." 

In a relentless three hour grilling, Ms May faced scores of questions from backbenchers, with almost all voicing damning criticism of the deal; the 'Remainers' calling for a second referendum; and 'Brexiteers' saying it does not actually fulfill the result of the referendum. 

In an impassioned speech, the DUP's leader in the House of Commons, Nigel Dodds MP alleged:

In her reply Ms May insisted that in the 585 page draft report secures three key factors for the North: no hard border in Ireland; the obligations of the Belfast Agreement are honoured; and to protect the integrity of the UK.  

Ms May has also faced repeated calls for a "people's vote", ie a second referendum on any propsed Brexit deal, saying that the 2016 referendum result will be honoured. 

 

Pressure

In announcing their resignations Mr Raab and Ms McVey heaped more pressure on the Tories' leader. 

Mr Raab claimed: "Above all, I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election."

This point was echoed by Ms McVey who said the does not deliver on the promises Ms May had made, adding: "We have gone from no deal is better than a bad deal to any deal is better than no deal."

She has also come under fire for the section of the agreement which sees the UK pay a divorce bill of €39bn to the EU, with MPs variously alleging that there was no legal requirement to pay it, and that she has got nothing in return for the payment, which amounts to €30m for each British constituency. 

Laughs of disbelief echoed around the wooden panels of the Commons as Ms May stated: "I firmly believe this country's best days are ahead of it."

Julian Lewis MP described the deal as "a Hotel California Brexit", that the UK will end up in an EU that they can't ever leave. She dismissed this insisting that she was fulfilling the promise to deliver on leaving the EU.