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London (AFP) – Theresa May will convene her cabinet on Monday and inform Parliament of the recent Brexit deal, as the troubled British Prime Minister begins the delicate task of selling the plan to a skeptical country.
May returns to a mutinous parliament after sealing the agreement with EU leaders at a summit in Brussels, where both sides insisted that the agreement was the best and only option available.
But she faces a tough battle to get MPs approved before a vote next month, which legislators from all parties, including their conservative colleagues, oppose.
"We can support this agreement, organize the referendum vote and build a better future … Or this assembly can choose to reject this agreement and return to square one.
"This would open the door to more division and more uncertainty, with all the risks that would entail," she warned lawmakers, according to preliminary excerpts released by her Downing Street office.
European stock markets rallied at the start of trading on Monday, as the pound was up slightly against the dollar and stagnating against the euro as a result of the deal.
The London benchmark, the FTSE 100, gained 1.4% to 7,046.73 points from Friday's close.
In the euro area, the DAX 30 Frankfurt index rose 1.0% to 11,315.90 points and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.7% to 4,982.54.
– Numbers game –
The sealed deal Sunday is gearing up for Britain's smooth exit from the EU on March 29, 2019 and sets a vision for "a partnership as close as possible" thereafter.
It covers financial issues, the rights of citizens, provisions to keep open the land border between the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as provisions for a 21-month transition period after Brexit.
The long and legally enforceable divorce agreement is accompanied by a brief political statement expressing hopes for future relations, particularly in the areas of security, trade and migration.
Until both documents are approved by the UK and European Parliaments, all parties are still considering the possibility that Britain will leave the European Union without any new arrangements in place.
A European source told AFP that May herself acknowledged Sunday in Brussels that she had no majority in parliament to get her plan adopted.
It will now embark on an intensive national campaign to promote it – and the risk of non-agreement – before legislators vote on or around December 12, according to reported information.
"The British want us to reach an agreement that respects the referendum and allows us to meet again as a country, regardless of the method used to vote," she told MPs.
However, the anti-accord forces are preparing for the fight, including the Labor Party's main opposition.
His spokesman for Brexit, Keir Starmer, told BBC radio that if the parliament rejected the deal, May would either renegotiate or hold general elections.
– Deal is a capitulation: Sun –
The Arch-Brexiteers also disregard the agreement, arguing that he keeps Britain too closely aligned with the bloc.
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the deal "disaster" and "humiliation" for Britain.
"We are a satellite state – a mori memento set on the walls of Brussels as a frightening warning to all those who are trying to escape," wrote the head of the "Quit" campaign in The Daily Telegraph.
Newspapers were divided on the acceptance of the agreement, the abandonment or the convening of a new referendum.
The tabloid Sun said that it was "not a diplomatic compromise, it is a surrender."
The Daily Telegraph said the "deplorable conditions" had been imposed by an EU seeking to punish Britain for leaving and that "we should not be afraid to leave."
The other papers were more conciliatory.
"Choose the Brexit of May or a jump into the abyss," the Daily Mail said, calling the alternatives "either implausible or even deeply unpleasant".
The Times said May had to convince MEPs that "B plans are fantasies". It's a "bad deal" but a second referendum may not give a different result, he said.
The Daily Express said it was "far from perfect but the other choices are even worse."
The Guardian said the second referendum train was "growing".
"Brexit is an economic and political disaster, fueling and not calming divisions," he said.
