Brexit: Theresa May's deal dead - First Minister Mark Drakeford
- Published
Theresa May's Brexit deal is dead, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
The prime minister suffered another large defeat on Tuesday during a second attempt to pass her deal through the House of Commons.
Mr Drakeford said it should not be a surprise to anyone and called for Mrs May to take no-deal off the table.
The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March - with no deal agreed in the Commons with the remaining EU states.
Plaid Cymru said a further referendum on whether to stay in the European Union should now be held.
The UK government suffered a further historic defeat when 242 MPs voted for her deal, with 391 against.
Mrs May failed to convince enough MPs that last-minute concessions she agreed with the EU were the "legally-binding" changes demanded when they rejected the deal by 230 votes in January.
Mr Drakeford tweeted, external: "This defeat should not be a surprise to anyone, least of all the PM.
"After a historic defeat two months ago, she failed to listen to other parties and the devolved nations as promised, and instead continued a reckless tactic to delay and deny.
"On such a momentous issue the PM should have built consensus from the start, instead of boxing herself in with foolish red lines.
"The PM's deal is dead - time to remove threat of no deal and extend Article 50."
Mrs May has promised Tory MPs a free vote on Wednesday on whether the UK should exit the EU without a deal.
MPs are due to take part in a further vote a day later on whether there should be an extension to Article 50 - the process by which the UK leaves the EU - and a delay to Brexit.
Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts said: "The prime minister must now accept that Parliament has rejected her wildly unpopular deal so it is time to turn with respect to the public.
"It is only right and proper that people have a final say on the deal in front of them.
"Plaid Cymru has been clear and consistent: the Withdrawal Agreement would be catastrophic for Wales, taking us out of the Single Market and Customs Union, removing our rights to live, study and work in the rest of Europe, while saying nothing about our future relationship."
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Stephen Crabb, former Welsh Secretary and MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, said: "A coalition of the principled, the tribal, the ideologues, opportunists & conspiracy theorists have again blocked Brexit.
"One more heave won't do it," he said, calling for Brexit to have a "fundamental reset" that was genuinely cross party.
Two of Wales' eight Tory MPs voted against the deal - Guto Bebb and David Jones - while the rest backed it.
All Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru MPs voted against it.
- Published13 March 2019
- Published11 March 2019
- Published12 March 2019