Next Tuesday MPs will vote on the EU withdrawal deal negotiated by Theresa May. It looks unlikely to be approved, having faced fierce criticism from members of all parties, including Remainers and Brexiteers.

Its supporters do not claim that the deal is perfect, but they ask whether a better alternative exists.

Five days of debate on the Brexit bill began on Tuesday with three defeats for the government.

Ministers were forced to concede that they would have to publish the legal advice they received from the Attorney General in full, having argued this was not in the national interest.

MPs will now also have more influence on what the government does next if the deal is rejected. This could see Parliament take control of the Brexit process from ministers.

This week The Cumberland News spoke to three of Cumbria’s MPs about the deal. Their differing views reflect the lack of consensus across the country.

Westmorland and Lonsdale Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron will be voting against the deal.

“There isn’t a particularly nice way out of this mess that we’ve found ourselves in,” he said. “David Cameron put the country in a situation with no preparation for one of the two possible outcomes, then cleared off and left us holding the baby.

“It’s an almost impossible situation. I respect Theresa May’s personal fortitude. But I cannot support this deal. It is the worst of both worlds. The EU is still controlling the terms of the UK’s membership of the terms of the customs union indefinitely.

“It potentially creates a serious threat to the union with Northern Ireland and Scotland. We’d have no control over that. When we’re in the European Union at least we are one of the people at the table making the rules. This is the opposite of taking back control.

“If you are concerned about the economy, this is a worse deal than we have currently. It’s disastrous. Eighty per cent of the UK economy is services, not goods. This deal doesn’t protect that.”

Mr Farron claims that the Prime Minister’s deal is arguably no better than no deal at all. “No deal would be appalling and leave us with no protection at all. But you could argue this deal is worse because it gives us no control over our ability to strike trade deals with anybody else.

“I’ve had plenty of people who were arch-Leavers say on the basis of this deal they’d rather remain in the EU. At least there we have some control.”

If the deal is voted down, Mr Farron does not believe a General Election should follow. “I think the people of this country would not forgive politicians for putting their energies into a General Election rather than getting on with their jobs. The same would apply to the search for a new Tory leader. The best option would be for the people to have their say on Theresa May’s deal. They didn’t see this deal in 2016. It’s not what Leavers voted for.

“If the people vote yes, we proceed with the deal. If they vote no, we stay with the current deal. The whole thing will be off and we stay in the EU. Is Theresa May’s deal better than what we have? On every measure, no it isn’t. We’re technically leaving the EU but gaining none of the benefits.”

Carlisle’s Conservative MP John Stevenson sided with Conservative rebels this week as he voted to give Parliament more influence over what happens if the Brexit deal is defeated.

He has yet to decide whether he will support the deal. His favoured option is for the UK to join the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which comprises Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

“I’m a long-term supporter of EFTA. That has freedom from the apparatus of the EU. Joining EFTA would reflect the commitment to leave the EU whilst having access to the EU single market and not being bound to the EU’s institutions.

“You have control over agriculture and fisheries. You don’t pay into the European Commission and you’re still part of the single market. There’s a degree of free movement. But there’s an emergency procedure to put a stop on immigration if it’s felt necessary.

“After next Tuesday, EFTA might become an option. There is already support on the Conservative and Labour sides. We’ve got to go for something that maximises the benefit for the economy while respecting the decision to leave.”

Mr Stevenson believes no deal could lead to recession and asks people to recognise that a perfect deal does not exist. If Theresa May’s option is rejected, what then?

“I think another General Election would be highly improbable. I don’t think there’s any appetite for one, except within the Labour Party. I don’t believe a second referendum would be appropriate. I’m not sure it would be helpful. I think it would be divisive. The people have made a decision.”

Penrith and the Border Conservative MP, and Justice Minister, Rory Stewart is a vocal supporter of the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal. He is hosting a public meeting about Brexit in Newton Rigg Conference Centre, near Penrith, today at 3pm.

He told The Cumberland News: “It’s an incredibly polarised, toxic, divisive debate. At one end people are wishing we’d never left the EU and wanting no Brexit deal at all. On the other hand people want to come out of the EU and have nothing to do with Europe at all.

“We’re never going to be able to resolve this as a country by lurching to one side or another. The Prime Minister’s deal delivers a Brexit that is economically realistic and recognises that the EU is our biggest trading partner.”

Much criticism of the plan is based on the “backstop”. This attempt to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland could effectively keep the UK in the EU customs union after the Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.

“We’re never going to have a backstop - it just wouldn’t happen,” said Mr Stewart. “It’s difficult to tell if people who oppose the deal on that basis are sincere or just using it as an excuse. The details of what EU institutions we would be connected to under the Prime Minister’s deal and what the relationship would be; those things are what we would negotiate over the next two or three years. The kind of institutions that we would be connected to are linked to trade. They’re not political. We wouldn’t be part of any EU army or joining the Euro. They’re to do with things like nitrogen dioxide levels in the air.”

Despite his support for Theresa May’s deal, Mr Stewart concedes that it seems likely to be defeated in the House of Commons. “Judging by the number of MPs who say they won’t vote for it, it’s difficult to see how the maths would work. What I’m trying to do is convince colleagues to think seriously about the alternatives. People are voting against this with no realistic idea of what the alternative is.

“They are basically voting down a certain deal for something that’s very uncertain. It’s being voted down by hard Remainers who wish to remain in the EU and by hard Brexiteers. They can’t both be right. They’re not both going to get what they want.

“Politicians exist to navigate through these kind of divisions. Britain has developed a reputation over many centuries for being a sensible, pragmatic country that tries to pursue pragmatic policies. We’ve always come together in the end. That’s one reason people invest in Britain, because they think it’s a predictable, sensible place.

“If we can’t get an agreement over this and we launch into no deal, international investors will conclude that we won’t be able to succeed in getting a deal with other countries and Europe in future. No deal would be very damaging, largely because of that uncertainty. We have to get people to understand that we have to compromise.”

Would a second referendum provide clarity? “That would just create more uncertainty and division. If there was a narrow victory for remain, leave would be just as unhappy as the Remainers are now. I just hope in the end people will take a deep breath and recognise the reality: this is a good, workable deal.”

n Workington MP Sue Hayman did not wish to comment. Copeland MP Trudy Harrison did not respond to The Cumberland News’s interview request.