Brexit: British Prime Minister Theresa May secures support for messy EU divorce

Kim Hjelmgaard USA TODAY

Published 4:15 PM EST Nov 14, 2018

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May won the support of her bitterly divided Cabinet on Wednesday for a draft deal to leave the European Union after months of stalled talks, bickering and setbacks that have threatened the messy divorce known as Brexit as well as May's leadership.

May secured the backing of her Cabinet for the deal with the EU following an "impassioned" five-hour debate. May confirmed the development during a short statement outside No. 10 Downing Street, the British leader's official residence.

"I firmly believe, with my head and my heart that this is a decision which is in the best interests of the United Kingdom," she said, referring to the support from her Cabinet as a "collective agreement." She didn’t say whether the deal received unanimous backing.

Securing Cabinet approval was an important step for May, but the deal still needs approval from the EU at a summit in the next few weeks. Then May will need to win backing from Britain's Parliament, where pro-Brexit and pro-EU legislators alike are threatening to oppose it. A disorderly exit from the EU is still a possibility.

Britain is due to leave the bloc in March. On Tuesday, it broke a four-month-long logjam with EU negotiators over the terms of its withdrawal, including a plan to keep the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland open after Brexit.

But pro-Brexit lawmakers in May’s divided Conservative Party are angry, saying the agreement will leave Britain tethered to the EU after it departs the bloc. Failure to secure Cabinet backing would have left May’s leadership in doubt and Brexit in chaos.

"Theresa May’s Brexit agreement is the worst deal in history," Nigel Farage, the British politician and broadcaster who helped engineer the June 2016 Brexit vote, tweeted. Farage represents Britain in the European Parliament in Brussels.

May herself told lawmakers earlier Wednesday that the draft deal "takes us significantly closer to delivering what the British people voted for" when they decided to leave the bloc. She said the deal means that Britain will "take back control" of its laws and borders "while protecting jobs, security and the integrity of our United Kingdom."

Britain's former Foreign Secretary William Hague said a failure to back the draft deal could have led to a new Brexit referendum and even a general election.

"It would probably mean a different government," Hague said in a BBC radio interview. He add that another Brexit referendum "might not resolve matters" that if it did happen it would be "the most divisive and bitter political conflict in this country in 100 years, and very economically damaging."

Britain voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48% in the vote. Some polling data indicate that if there were a second Brexit vote a majority would chose to stay in the EU. May has repeatedly rejected the idea of holding a second vote.

May is expected to give a statement to Parliament on Thursday. Aspects of the deal that will be detailed in the coming days include Britain's trade relationship with the EU and what rights the 3.8 million EU nationals who live in Britain will retain after the divorce.

More: How much is Brexit costing Brits? A lot — and the tab keeps rising

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