Brexit Deal Breakthrough!

A Reprieve For Prime Minister May

She's done it. Against significant odds, Prime Minister Theresa May has secured the first stage of a Brexit deal. If she hadn't, it would likely have been the nail in the coffin of her premiership.

EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU can all breathe a sigh of relief as their rights are protected under this current deal, which will, according to Downing Street, cost UK taxpayers between £35bn and £39bn.

May was reportedly close to a deal earlier this week, until the DUP put the kibosh on it. May needed to ensure no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; meanwhile the DUP were aghast at a deal that would have seen Northern Ireland treated completely differently to the rest of the UK, and which might, in their view, be a move towards a united Ireland.

The DUP have since welcomed six 'substantial changes' to the text, including issues to do with sea borders. It's likely, however, that more compromises and linguistic wrangling over this thorny issue will be forthcoming.

Breakthrough

EU commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has hailed this 'breakthrough', which means talks can now proceed to the next stage in early February.

Elmar Brok, the Brexit co-ordinator for the centre-right European People’s Party, sounded a note of caution at the announcement, however:

'This is not yet the withdrawal agreement, it is an important step [towards] the withdrawal agreement.'

In other words, let's not get too carried away. According to Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, the worst is yet to come:

'The next phase will be significantly tougher and it is essential all the UK’s governments are now fully involved in the negotiations on the UK’s future relationship with the EU – something that has not happened to this point.'

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