U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May told rebels in her divided party that if they torpedoed her Brexit deal then the United Kingdom would leave the EU without any agreement, a scenario the IMF said would make the country much poorer.
The United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29 and yet little is clear. The fate of Ms. May’s government and her Brexit plan is in doubt because it is unclear whether she can command the 320 votes she needs in the House of Commons to approve a deal.
“I think that the alternative to that will be not having a deal,” Ms. May told BBC TV, adding she was confident of getting a good agreement she thought Parliament would ultimately approve.
A house divided
Recent signals from Brussels have buoyed hopes that the United Kingdom and the EU can agree and approve a proper divorce arrangement before it leaves, though the sides are still divided on about one fifth of the detail of a deal. But many business chiefs and investors fear politics could scupper an agreement, thrusting both the EU and the United Kingdom into a “no-deal” Brexit that they say would weaken the West, panic financial markets and block the arteries of trade.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator on the issue, said in Madrid on Monday that talks between the EU and Britain on Brexit are being conducted in a spirit of “good cooperation”, But the EU said both sides still have work to do to settle a range of issues, including the Irish border.
