The Prime Minister insisted that he had listened to the concerns of MPs and her policy had changed, but failed to bring forward anything new at all
THERESA May has been slammed today for laying out her Plan B for Brexit - which is exactly the same as her totally rejected Plan A.
The Prime Minister insisted that he had listened to the concerns of MPs and her policy had changed, but failed to bring forward anything new at all.
After her deal was overwhelmingly slapped down by MPs last week, the PM was forced back to the Commons within three days to say what she would do next.
But she failed to say anything different today, instead promising yet again to continue talks with MPs and discuss how to fix the hated Northern Irish border backstop.
Labour MP Stella Creasy said this afternoon: "Nothing has changed. No progress on what Brexit means."
And veteran MP Hillary Benn blasted her for failing to listen to what opposition politicians wanted, saying: "While her door may have been open, her mind remains closed."
The PM told MPs:
Mrs May said she would be speaking to the DUP this week and other colleagues, and will go back to Brussels to tell them what is needed to get the deal over the line.
"We will work to identify how we can ensure that our commitment to no hard border in Northern Ireland and Ireland can be delivered in a way that commands the support of this House, and the European Union," she promised.
But Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn asked what hope she had of getting the deal passed after she failed to do so last month.
"This really does feel like Groundhog Day," he said.
Some ministers think that the best way forward is to get Leavers on side to win over Tories and the DUP - rather than reaching out to Labour MPs who want a customs union with the bloc and a softer Brexit.
Yesterday key Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg suggested he'd rather back the deal than risk not leaving altogether.
He said this morning: "If the backstop could be removed altogether, so could most of the problems be removed."
Mrs May also used her speech to slam reports that she could consider reopening the controversial and hard won Good Friday Agreement.
The PM stressed: "I never never even considered doing so, and neither would I," she said.
She also took aim at Jeremy Corbyn for failing to engage in talks to get a Brexit deal done.
Last week the Labour boss said he wouldn't talk to her about leaving the EU because she's refused to take No Deal Brexit off the table.
Mrs May said she hoped that he would "reflect on his decision" and said we should "all be prepared to work together" to get a deal done.
"He says no more phoney talks - it would be nice to have at least some talks with him!" she joked.
GOING SOFT
A cross-party group of MPs are frantically pushing an alternative Soft Brexit plan which could replace Mrs May's deal.
It would be welcomed by big business - but Brexit voters would be unhappy because it would mean Britain accepting open borders, and following European rules without a say.
HOW LIKELY? 3/5
HARD AS NAILS
Most of the Tory Brexiteers who oppose the PM's deal want her to return to Brussels and strike a tougher line.
But Eurocrats currently insist it's impossible to re-open negotiations.
HOW LIKELY? 2/5
REFERENDUM RE-RUN
Dozens of MPs are hell-bent on forcing Mrs May to hold a second referendum so Britain can stay in the EU.
Yet without the support of the Government it's unlikely the second vote could become a reality.
HOW LIKELY? 2/5
DEAL OR NO DEAL?
If Mrs May cannot pass a deal, the legal default is that we will leave the EU without a deal on March 29.
Despite the legal position, the majority of MPs insist they will take any measure necessary to rule out No Deal.
HOW LIKELY? 4/5
MAY TRIUMPHS - EVENTUALLY
Cabinet ministers remain adamant that a version of Theresa May's plan will eventually pass the Commons, even after losing last night.
They believe sceptical MPs will lose their nerve as Brexit Day approaches - terrified of either No Deal or a second referendum.
HOW LIKELY? 3/5
Today Remainers are launching a move to seize control of the Brexit process.
Amendments are being discussed today on what should happen next - one plan would be to give backbenchers control, and another would force article 50 to be extended.
THERESA May is exactly in tune with an angry public whose mood is hardening.
Leavers, and plenty of Remainers, are sick of EU bullying and weak-willed MPs ready to roll over and reverse or forget the whole thing. No Deal is the No1 choice for many, regardless of the fallout.
The world now knows that Michel Barnier never negotiated in good faith. He reportedly boasted: “I’ll have done my job if the exit terms are so bad that the British would rather stay.”
Yet Remainers want to capitulate anyway: to scrap or “extend” Article 50, risibly pretending it’s a pragmatic solution instead of what they wanted all along.
They would force on us a dangerous second referendum, or some vague pause to avoid No Deal, disgracefully backed by Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and other Remainer Ministers.
The tactics are so undemocratic the Queen might have to block them. That’s right, these MPs could force our monarch, in her 93rd year, into the worst constitutional crisis for three centuries.
Mrs May is now taking the only good option short of No Deal — to return to Brussels and renegotiate the backstop.
The EU may refuse. Their ciphers in Parliament may even somehow halt Brexit. That would guarantee only this:
An enraged population, electing future Governments more viscerally Eurosceptic and extreme than any Brussels has known.
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