PM says parliament may get more say on EU ties but warns critics risk harming democracy

Theresa May has insisted she will go ahead with a crucial vote on her Brexit deal amid growing speculation that it could be delayed.

The prime minister said she was seeking further clarification from the EU to address the concerns of MPs, as well as specific measures relating to the backstop on Northern Ireland before the vote in the week beginning 14 January.

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She also said she would look at giving parliament a greater say in how the UK’s future relationship would be negotiated, but refused to say exactly what that might be.

Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday if the vote – which was postponed last month – would go ahead, she replied: “Yes we are going to hold the vote. The debate will start next week and it will carry on until the following week, but we will be holding the vote.”

Asked if there had been any changes she could offer to backbenchers who are expected to vote down her deal, she said: “What we will be setting out over the next few days are assurances in three areas: first are measures specific to Northern Ireland; the second is a greater role for parliament as we take these negotiations forward into the next stage for our future relationship; and third, and we are still working on this, is further assurances from the European Union to address the issues that have been raised.”

Quick guide Why extend the Brexit transition period? Show Hide Will the proposal solve anything? The mooted extension to the transition period is a new idea being put forward by the EU to help Theresa May square the circle created by the written agreement last December and the draft withdrawal agreement in March.

That committed the UK and the EU to ensuring there was no divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

But it also, after an intervention by the Democratic Unionist party, committed the UK (not the EU) not to have any trading differences between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

The problem is that these are two irreconcilable agreements. They also impinge on the legally binding Good Friday agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland and in some senses pooled sovereignty of Northern Ireland giving people a birthright to be Irish or British or both.

If the UK leaves the EU along with the customs union and the single market then the border in Ireland becomes the only land border between the UK and the EU forcing customs, tax and regulatory controls. The backstop is one of three options agreed by the EU and the UK in December and would only come into play if option A (overall agreement) or option B (a tailor-made solution) cannot be agreed by the end of transition. The Irish have likened it to an insurance policy. The new EU idea is to extend the transition period to allow time to get to option A or B.

But an extension is problematic for Brexiters and leave voters, who want the UK to get out of the EU as soon as possible.

The Irish and the EU will also still need the backstop in the withdrawal agreement, which must be signed before the business of the trade deal can get under way. Otherwise it is a no-deal Brexit.

Extending the transition into 2021 would mean another year of paying into the EU budget. Britain would have to negotiate this but it has been estimated at anywhere between £10bn and £17bn. Staying in the EU for another year would also mean continued freedom of movement and being under the European court of justice, which Brexiters would oppose.

May said a second referendum would be “disrespecting” people who voted for Brexit and warned it could not be held before 29 March, the date of Britain’s departure from the EU.

On her own future, she refused to put a timescale on her departure.

“I was clear before Christmas with my colleagues on two things: one, I’m not going to call a snap election and secondly that I’m not going to be leading the party into the 2022 general election.

“What colleagues have said they want me to do is to deliver Brexit, which is what I am working on doing and also deliver on the agenda I set out when I first became prime minister.”

Earlier, May had told the Mail on Sunday that the UK faces a moment of “profound challenge” as she urged MPs to get behind her Brexit deal.

She warned critics from both sides of the Brexit divide that they risked damaging the economy and trust in democracy by opposing her plan.

May said: “There are some in parliament who, despite voting in favour of holding the referendum, voting in favour of triggering article 50 and standing on manifestos committed to delivering Brexit, now want to stop us leaving by holding another referendum.

“Others across the House of Commons are so focused on their particular vision of Brexit that they risk making a perfect ideal the enemy of a good deal.

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“Both groups are motivated by what they think is best for the country, but both must realise the risks they are running with our democracy and the livelihoods of our constituents.”

On the Marr show, May said the UK would be in “uncharted territory” if the House of Commons rejected the terms of the UK’s withdrawal. She declined to say if she would seek further votes if this happened.

She also declined to say whether she would back a second referendum if it were supported by a majority of MPs.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March. May agreed her deal on the terms of the UK’s divorce and the framework of future relations with the EU but it needs to pass a vote by MPs. The Commons vote had been scheduled to take place in December but May called it off after it became clear that not enough MPs would back her deal.

The debate on the deal will restart on Wednesday, with the crucial vote now expected to take place on 14 or 15 January.

It was reported on Sunday that an all-party group of senior MPs could attempt to derail a no-deal Brexit this week by starving the government of cash.

MPs will vote on Tuesday on two amendments to the finance bill that could lead to gridlock in Whitehall unless May wins approval from parliament for a deal with Brussels.

Quick guide Brexit and backstops: an explainer Show Hide A backstop is required to ensure there is no hard border in Ireland if a comprehensive free trade deal cannot be signed before the end of 2020. Theresa May has proposed to the EU that the whole of the UK would remain in the customs union after Brexit, but Brussels has said it needs more time to evaluate the proposal. As a result, the EU insists on having its own backstop - the backstop to the backstop - which would mean Northern Ireland would remain in the single market and customs union in the absence of a free trade deal, prompting fierce objections from Conservative hard Brexiters and the DUP, which props up her government. That prompted May to propose a country-wide alternative in which the whole of the UK would remain in parts of the customs union after Brexit. “The EU still requires a ‘backstop to the backstop’ – effectively an insurance policy for the insurance policy. And they want this to be the Northern Ireland-only solution that they had previously proposed,” May told MPs. Raising the stakes, the prime minister said the EU’s insistence amounted to a threat to the constitution of the UK: “We have been clear that we cannot agree to anything that threatens the integrity of our United Kingdom,” she added.

The Sunday Times reported that the former Labour cabinet minister Yvette Cooper is at the head of a group of select committee leaders who have tabled an amendment that would rob the Treasury of its no-deal powers if ministers pressed ahead without the support of MPs.

The bill grants the Treasury the right to spend money on a no-deal Brexit and wider powers, which are not defined, that could be used for emergency interventions in the event of no deal.

Meanwhile, the health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock, said he was “confident” there would be an unhindered supply of medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit, as long as the pharmaceutical industry took the necessary action.

“We are confident that if everybody does what they need to do then we will have an unhindered supply of medicines,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.