Brexit: Critical reaction as PM calls off vote on deal

There has been a critical response from political parties and business groups in Northern Ireland to the government's decision to call off Tuesday's vote on the Brexit withdrawal deal.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she had listened to concerns from MPs about the Northern Irish backstop.

It is the insurance policy to avoid a hard Irish border after Brexit if a solution cannot be found through a wider trade deal.

She made a statement to MPs in Parliament on Monday, which prompted a negative reaction from NI's political leaders and business representatives.

PA

Nigel Dodds, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Westminster leader

"Frankly what the prime minister says today simply isn't credible, is it?

"The prime minister says she's listening, but she talks about assurances and reassurances. Does she not get it by now that the withdrawal agreement legally binding text is not accepted in this house?

"Please listen and amend the withdrawal agreement or it will be voted down."

Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin President

"Today's announcement from Theresa May to delay the vote is the latest chapter in the Brexit shambles saga.

"Theresa May and the British parliament are deluding themselves if they think that Irish interests will simply be cast aside to facilitate the fantasy Brexit they are pursuing.

"The Irish government and the EU need to stand by their commitments and defend Irish interests; there can be no hard border, no diminution of our rights and protection for the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts."

Robin Swann, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader

"The government has driven itself into a cul-de-sac.

"If the prime minister's intention is to go to Brussels to seek assurances rather than address the fundamental problem that the backstop is a betrayal of the integrity of the United Kingdom. she will only be kicking the can down the road and will end up back in the same place again within days.

"Assurances alone won't wash. We need fundamental change in legally binding text."

Pacemaker

Colum Eastwood, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader

"The political posturing and game playing that we have seen in Westminster culminating in Theresa May pulling Tuesday's vote on the withdrawal agreement is totally missing the point.

"Westminster politicians have seen the backstop as their problem when it is our solution.

"Whether it is Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson or any other future British prime minister they need to come to terms with the fact that there will be no deal without a backstop."

Naomi Long, Alliance Party leader

"It now looks increasingly likely that Brexit is undeliverable. Those who campaigned for it are entirely responsible for the failure.

"The best option now is for the Prime Minister to return to the people and give them the final say on this debacle.

"Let the public decide whether they want to vote for the reality of Brexit - a deal worse than we have now, a future poorer than we are now - or whether they want to stop this act of national self-harm and rescind Article 50."

Pacemaker

Jim Allister, Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader

"Mrs May's humiliating climb down highlights her folly in trying to push ahead with a deal that will never fly in Parliament.

"But, clearly, she has learned nothing because all she is now talking about is assurances, which will be meaningless in comparison to the legal text of the withdrawal agreement which she is not seeking to change.

"This is a prime minister who has utterly lost her way. She should go and go now."

Karen Bradley, Northern Ireland Secretary

"I am convinced leaving the EU without an agreement would be disastrous for Northern Ireland and potentially for the long-term future of the union.

"I am not prepared to take risks with or gamble the union of the United Kingdom."

Glyn Roberts, Retail NI chief executive

"While it was very clear that the prime minister would have lost the vote on the draft deal, its postponement and more negotiations with EU causes ever more instability for the economy and the business community.

"The business community recognises that the draft deal was far from perfect but was far better than a disastrous no deal.

"We have real concerns that today's developments in the House of Commons bring us closer to a no-deal scenario."

Manufacturing NI

"We've had a number of calls from firms watching events in Parliament. Each are worried, many are angry.

"The country is clearly divided, Parliament even more so. Yet, apart from the withdrawal agreement, nothing else is real.

"If a better deal is available, it has yet to be articulated never mind negotiated and we have no idea if it is practical and workable for the businesses who have to pay wages this Friday and every beyond 29 March 2019."

Aodhán Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium

"Any delay to a future agreement is extremely concerning, particularly with just three months to go until the UK leaves the EU.

"A no-deal outcome would result in higher costs, harming consumers in NI who already suffer from having half the discretionary spending power of those in the rest of the UK.

"Parliament must urgently find a workable proposal to avoid a cliff-edge no-deal scenario. The Brexit clock is ticking loudly."

Trevor Lockhart, chairman of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in NI

"Today's developments are undoubtedly a blow for businesses who after two years of uncertainty were looking to this week to provide certainty.

"It's almost farcical in terms of trying to plot a way forward for the business community in Northern Ireland, and is something we urgently need to address.

"Politicians will get paid in April 2019 regardless of the outcome, but businesses this evening are left with more uncertainty than ever."

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