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Factbox: Britain's Brexit vote – How many lawmakers are backing PM May?
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s parliament is debating whether to support Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, a decision which will define Britain’s departure from the European Union and could determine her own future as leader.
The odds look stacked against May winning parliamentary approval for her deal, which has come under fire from all sides, including euroskeptics, supporters of the EU and the Northern Irish party propping up her minority Conservative government.
Below is a running tally of the number of lawmakers who have so far explicitly indicated during the debate whether they plan vote for and against the Brexit deal on Dec.11. Lawmakers are entitled to change their mind before the vote, and some do not state how they intend to vote.
There are a total of 650 lawmakers in parliament. Of those, 102 are government ministers and Conservative Party enforcers, or whips, who are required to support the deal and so are not included in the tally.
Lawmakers who have indicated they will support the deal: 7
Lawmakers who have indicated they will oppose the deal: 36
Here is a selection of quotes from lawmakers during the debate on why they have made their decisions:
SUPPORTING THE DEAL:
Roger Gale, Conservative lawmaker
“We have three options. I rule out no Brexit, because I believe that it is not what people voted for. I have had to rule out … hard Brexit. I believe that it would be immensely damaging. Even my miserable maths says that two out of three leaves one, and that one is the withdrawal agreement that will be before us on Tuesday night.”
Stephen Crabb, Conservative lawmaker
“Yes, this is an imperfect deal; it could have been so much better if we had used our time much better as a government and a party over the past two years. But I am going to vote for it because I believe in doing Brexit in a responsible way that protects the interests of my constituents and abides by the outcome of the referendum in 2016.”
OPPOSING THE DEAL:
Boris Johnson, former foreign minister and leading Brexit campaigner:
“The deal is a national humiliation that makes a mockery of Brexit. I am sorry to say this, these are hard truths, but there will be no proper free trade deals and we will not take back control of our laws.”
Margaret Beckett, opposition Labour lawmaker and former foreign minister:
“The deal on offer … does not recover our sovereignty. It leaves us rule takers from the European Union without any voice in shaping those rules. It represents what may well be the biggest transfer of sovereignty ever proposed by any British government, because this time sovereignty is not being shared — it is being surrendered.”
Anna Soubry, prominent pro-EU Conservative lawmaker:
“I fear for our country if we set course now, agree to this deal and make the grave mistake of leaving the EU, which has conveyed so much prosperity and delivered peace and a better country.”
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