Brexit news latest: Theresa May issues desperate final rallying cry for MPs to back her Withdrawal Agreement deal

Theresa May leaves a church service near her Maidenhead constituency on Sunday. The Prime Minister is set to warn trust in politicians will suffer 'catastrophic harm' if they fail to implement the result of the referendum
Andrew Matthews/PA
James Morris13 January 2019
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Theresa May will warn MPs that trust in politicians will suffer "catastrophic harm" if they fail to deliver Brexit.

The Prime Minister is set to issue a desperate final rallying cry for MPs to back her Withdrawal Agreement.

Ahead of the critical Commons vote on Tuesday, Mrs May will use a speech to factory workers in Stoke-on-Trent to ask MPs to consider the "consequences" of their actions on the faith of British people in democracy.

Mrs May, who has been urged by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to call a general election if her deal is voted down, is expected to say: "Imagine if an anti-devolution House of Commons had said to the people of Scotland or Wales that despite voting in favour of a devolved legislature, Parliament knew better and would overrule them. Or else force them to vote again.

"What if we found ourselves in a situation where Parliament tried to take the UK out of the EU in opposition to a remain vote?

"People's faith in the democratic process and their politicians would suffer catastrophic harm.

"We all have a duty to implement the result of the referendum."

Theresa May leaves a church service near her Maidenhead constituency on Sunday
AFP/Getty Images

Mrs May will say that while the two sides in the 2016 referendum disagreed on many things, they were united on one thing - that "what the British people decided, the politicians would implement".

The speech will continue: "On the rare occasions when Parliament puts a question to the British people directly we have always understood that their response carries a profound significance.

"When the people of Wales voted by a margin of 0.3 per cent, on a turnout of just over 50 per cent, to endorse the creation of the Welsh Assembly, that result was accepted by both sides and the popular legitimacy of that institution has never seriously been questioned.

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"Parliament understood this fact when it voted overwhelmingly to trigger Article 50. And both major parties did so too when they stood on election manifestos in 2017 that pledged to honour the result of the referendum."

On Sunday, four Brexiteer backbenchers announced they will back the Withdrawal Agreement - despite speculation they could vote against it.

In a possible sign that the tide is beginning to turn in favour of Mrs May, Tory MPs Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Sir Edward Leigh, Andrew Murrison and Caroline Johnson said they would support the government in the meaningful vote on Tuesday.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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