Britain will exit the European Union even if MPs vote against a final Brexit deal in a Commons vote, David Davis says
The Brexit Secretary confirmed that our exit from the EU would go ahead no matter what the outcome - because the people had clearly had their say in the June 23 referendum
BRITAIN will leave the European Union no matter what - even if MPs reject a Brexit deal in the House of Commons, David Davis has said.
The Brexit Secretary confirmed that our exit from the EU would still go ahead no matter what the outcome - because the people had clearly had their say in the June 23 referendum.
Theresa May confirmed this morning that she would give politicians in the Commons and the Lords a vote on the final Brexit deal - which sent the pound soaring.
Mr Davis was asked today what would happen if they voted to reject it. He said it wouldn't matter - Britain would still leave the EU.
"The referendum last year set in motion a circumstance where the UK is going to leave the European Union, and it won't change that," he said.
Theresa May laid out some of her plans for Brexit earlier today - including the news that Britain will quit the Single Market so we can take back control of our borders and laws.
She said she did not want a “partial membership” of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out.
“We seek a new and equal partnership – between an independent, self-governing, Global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU," she told an audience at Lancaster House in London.
Mr Davis said that countries would be queuing up to do a trade deal with Britain after it exits the EU.
"We can't actually sign until the day we leave," he admitted. "But I've got a very strong suspicion there will be a lot of things to sign that very day."
Yesterday President-Elect Donald Trump insisted that a trade deal between the US and the UK would be signed "very quickly" after Brexit, and New Zealand's PM has also said he wants an arrangement on the table as soon as possible.
The Brexit Secretary said that just because Britain would be leaving the EU's Single Market, it did not mean that we would not be able to retain access to it.
He said that "pretty much every country in the world" has access to the Single Market, and he was sure Britain and the EU would be able to agree on the "terms".
"My job is to persuade our opposite numbers in Europe that it is in their interests too that we all have equal access to each other's markets," he told MPs.
He also confirmed that some unskilled migration was likely to continue after Brexit, but that Parliament would now have the powers to set the UK's policy.