‘IF THIS deal doesn’t go through, we go back to square one,’ PM May said in her interview with Radio Five Live, where she appealed to the whole population to back her against rebellious MPs.
She added: ‘If we were to go back to the European Union and say, “well, people don’t like that deal, can we have another one?” I don’t think they are going to come to us and say we will give you a better deal.’
It is her deal or no deal. The interviewer Emma Barnett asked: ‘What people don’t understand is what is plan B?’ To this May responded: ‘We have to get through this deal. I am working on getting this vote through parliament. I think that if we don’t get through the vote in parliament, what we will see is more division and more uncertainty.
‘There are people in parliament, some who will argue for no deal and so who want to stop Brexit, who want to frustrate Brexit, but what I want to do is deliver Brexit and deliver it with a good deal. ‘All my focus is going to be getting this deal. Obviously, we have got to finalise the deal on Sunday with the European Council.’
May was asked again: ‘What is plan B? What is top of the list, no deal, or no Brexit? If you could just answer that.’ May said: ‘From my point of view, personally there is no question of no Brexit, because the government needs to deliver on the referendum in 2016.
‘So as far as I am concerned, the UK is leaving the EU on the 29th March 2019. But people will have heard if they look at what has happened in parliament that there are voices in parliament that actually want to frustrate Brexit and want to stop Brexit.’
Heather from Devon then phoned in to ask: ‘Having ignored the public for over two years, how can we trust you now?’
May said: ‘I recognise that the vote was 52% to 48% in terms of Leave versus Remain. Parliament had said to the public we want you to make this choice and people chose to leave. ‘I think it’s right in terms of trust in politics that we do deliver on that, but what I have been working to do, is to deliver on that vote but to do it in a way that does deliver a better future for everybody.’
She was then asked: ‘If you can’t get your deal through, which you can’t guarantee, no politician can … Will you resign?’ May responded: ‘I am focussed on ensuring that we will get this view through parliament, because I believe that it is the real deal.’
Emma Barnett pressed her again: ‘What is next, will you resign if you cannot get the deal through?’ May said: ‘I am not thinking about me, I am thinking about getting a deal through that delivers for the people of this country. I am going to be doing other things too; I am going to be travelling around the country explaining the deal to people up and down the country.’ In taking her campaign to mobilise the people, May is setting an example the trade unions must follow.
