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- Theresa May has set out her alternative Brexit plan to the House of Commons.
- The prime minister made a statement to MPs after her deal with the EU was overwhelmingly rejected in a Commons vote last week.
- She will push ahead with a plan to once again demand concessions from the EU on the Northern Ireland backstop.
- The motion faces multiple amendments from MPs designed to allow Parliament to take control of the Brexit process.
LONDON — Theresa May has revealed her alternative Brexit plan after MPs last week voted overwhelmingly to reject her deal with the EU.
The prime minister said she had listened to the concerns of MPs and would now seek to again gain concessions from the EU on the controversial Northern Ireland backstop.
"With regard to the backstop, despite the changes we have previously agreed, there remain two core issues: the fear that we could be trapped in it permanently; and concerns over its potential impact on our Union if Northern Ireland is treated differently from the rest of the UK," May told MPs.
"So I will be talking further this week to colleagues... to consider how we might meet our obligations to the people of Northern Ireland and Ireland in a way that can command the greatest possible support in the House."
The backstop is designed to keep the the UK tied to EU customs and trade rules and avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland if talks fail before the end of the Brexit transition period.
However, many Conservative MPs fear that it could lead the UK into being locked indefinitely into EU trade and customs rules.
The prime minister is reportedly seeking a so-called sunset-clause on the backstop after which it would cease to have any effect.
However, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier rejected this on Monday, telling RTE that the current deal agreed with the prime minister was "the best deal possible."
"It's now for the UK leaders to build this stable and political majority for a deal. We are waiting for the next steps, and are ready to work again on the political declaration," he said.
The opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn also accused May of a "sham" attempt to reach out to other parties on Brexit.
"The Prime Minister’s invitations to talks have been exposed as a PR sham," Corbyn said.
"Every opposition party politician came out of those meetings with the same response. Contrary to what the Prime Minister has just said, there was no flexibility; there were no negotiations; nothing had changed."
The prime minister said she would continue to meet with MPs to hear their concerns over Brexit and would be "more open" with parliament about the next stage of the process.
However, she used her statement to reject demands by oppositon MPs to extend the Article 50 process or hold a second referendum.
"The Opposition parties that have engaged so far – and some backbenchers - have expressed their support for a second referendum," May said.
"I have set out many times my deep concerns about returning to the British people for a second referendum. Our duty is to implement the decision of the first one."
She added that a second referendum "would set a difficult precedent that could have significant implications for how we handle referendums in this country - not least, strengthening the hand of those campaigning to break up our United Kingdom."
The prime minister set out her plan in a statement and motion to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
The plan, which has already been rejected multiple times by the EU and Ireland, would need to be backed in principle by the House of Commons in a vote at the end of this month, before being negotiated with the EU and then voted on again by the UK Parliament next month.
May wants the EU to give the UK legally-binding guarantees that the backstop would be a temporary measure. Pro-Brexit MPs want this to come in the form a fixed end-date.
However, MPs from across the House are poised to force May to think again, with multiple amendments planned to her motion, which are designed to take control of the process from the prime minister.
Among the amendments are plans to force the prime minister to extend the two-year Article 50 process that will take the UK out of the EU on March 29, and a push to hand control of the entire process to backbench MPs.
The amendments will be selected by the House of Commons speaker John Bercow and then put to a vote by MPs on January 29.
May has blamed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the breakdown in the talks with opposition parties after he refused to meet with the prime minister until she rules out the possibility of a no-deal Brexit with the EU — the preferred option of some Conservative Brexiteers.
Demands by other opposition parties for a second referendum and Brexit to be delayed, were also rejected outright by the prime minister, sources in the opposition meetings told Business Insider.
Ripping up the Good Friday Agreement?
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Downing Street has reportedly considered an alternative plan to renegotiate the Good Friday Agreement in order to avoid the need for a backstop with the EU.
The GFA peace deal was agreed between the UK, Northern Irish parties and the Republic of Ireland in the 1990s after decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland.
Ripping up the Belfast Agreement would be incredibly controversial, take months, if not years, and require a series of referendums in order to ratify it. Downing Street sources deny any plans to rip up the Good Friday Agreement.
However, Theresa May categorically denied the story on Monday.
"All of us agree that as we leave the European Union, we must fully respect the Belfast Agreement and not allow the creation of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland – nor indeed a border down the Irish Sea," May said.
"And I want to be absolutely clear, in the light of media stories this morning, this Government will not reopen the Belfast Agreement. I have never even considered doing so – and neither would I."
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