Prime Minister Theresa May will try to convince senior ministers this afternoon to accept a draft European Union divorce deal that opponents said would imperil her own government and threaten the unity of the United Kingdom.
Brexiteers in May’s Conservative Party accused her of surrendering to the EU and said they would vote the deal down, while the Northern Irish party which props up her minority government questioned whether she would be able to get parliamentary approval.
UK PM May faces a fight to seal Brexit deal. The British cabinet will meet at 1400 GMT.
EU leaders could meet on Nov. 25 for a summit to seal the Brexit deal if May’s cabinet approves the text, diplomatic sources said.
The draft deal pushes the United Kingdom towards the Brexit finale though the ultimate outcome is uncertain: scenarios range from a calm divorce to upheaval that would scuttle the economy and sink May’s premiership or even lead to another referendum.
Brexit will pitch the world’s fifth largest economy into the unknown and many fear it will serve to divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.
Supporters of Brexit say that while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive and also enable deeper EU integration without such a powerful reluctant member.
For the EU, reeling from successive crises over debt and immigration, the loss of Britain is the biggest blow yet to 60 years of efforts to forge European unity in the wake of two world wars.