Brexit backtrack begins… Raab would rather stay in EU than accept May deal

Published time: 23 Nov, 2018 11:50

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Anti-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament © REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Faced with Theresa May’s EU withdrawal deal, some Brexiteers are beginning to think the EU isn’t so bad after all. Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said that the deal was in fact “worse than staying in EU.”

Raab, who resigned as Brexit secretary last week, told the BBC that May’s deal, which took the best part of two years to be negotiated, would be rejected by Parliament. In that scenario “alternatives” would need to be explored, including remaining in the bloc.

While Raab insisted that “he’s not advocating staying in the EU,” he argued that “if you just presented me terms, this deal or EU membership, because we would effectively be bound by the same rules but without the control or voice over them, yes, I think this would be even worse than that.”

However, Raab is not alone in his preference, according to the Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson.

Fraser Nelson

✔@FraserNelson

I’m struck by how many senior Brexiteers say - in private - just this. That EU membership is preferable to May’s deal. More in my @telegraph column tomorrow.

Iain Macwhirter@iainmacwhirter

Hard to argue that this isn’t massively worse than staying in the EU. At least we now have a say in the laws from Brussels. Not under May’s naive WA. https://twitter.com/frasernelson/status/1065502669492629504 …

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12:44 AM - Nov 23, 2018

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Raab’s admission could give Remainers hope of either stopping Brexit altogether, or forcing a second referendum on the issue. People’s Vote advocate, Labour MP David Lammy asked: “If MPs are allowed to change their minds, the public must be given the same opportunity.”

David Lammy

✔@DavidLammy

Just over a week ago Dominic Raab was in charge of negotiating May's Brexit deal. This morning on #r4today he conceded it is worse than our continued EU membership. If MPs are allowed to change their minds, the public must be given the same opportunity.

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1:49 PM - Nov 23, 2018

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Matt Kelly

✔@mk1969

Dominic Raab put on the spot by @bbcnickrobinson and concedes publicly that Remain is better than May’s Deal. Remarkable.

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1:17 PM - Nov 23, 2018

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Dr Phillip Lee MP

✔@DrPhillipLeeMP

Credit to @DominicRaab for publicly saying he’d rather remain in the EU than accept the government’s #Brexit ‘deal’. If it’s unacceptable to him how do we know that it’s acceptable to the 17.4m people who voted Leave in 2016? We need to ask the British public to know #PeoplesVote

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2:31 PM - Nov 23, 2018

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May, upon presenting the final UK Withdrawal Agreement to Parliament on Thursday, was roundly attacked by MPs from her own side.

The parliamentary mathematics are not in May’s favor, so far. After a week scrutinizing the deal, the PM looks no closer to getting MPs on board. Parliamentarians will now debate the deal and its details ahead of a vote, expected within the next month.

As well as the expected opposition from Labour, May faces defeat should rebel Tories and her Northern Irish allies, the DUP, follow through with threats of their own and vote against it.

Despite seemingly seeing off a coup attempt from Jacob Rees-Mogg and his Tory faction (the European Research Group), should she fail, May’s leadership would undoubtedly come under threat once again.