The prime minister also refused to rule out repeated parliamentary votes until her deal is passed
Theresa May has cautioned against “the search for the perfect Brexit” becoming “the enemy of good” ahead of parliament voting on her Brexit deal after its delay until after the Christmas recess.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, the prime minister also refused to rule out holding a series of votes on her EU withdrawal agreement if it is rejected when MPs vote on it, but reaffirmed her opposition to a second referendum, describing it as “disrespecting” Brexit voters.
Asked what would happen were her Brexit deal to be voted down, she replied: “We would be in uncharted territory… no one knows what will happen.”
“Yes, we are going to hold the vote” Theresa May confirms to #marr that #Brexit meaningful vote will take place in January https://t.co/lwLOnPKoL5 pic.twitter.com/tblxzInFZC
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 6, 2019
“I don’t think anybody can say exactly what will happen in terms of the reaction we will see in Parliament,” she added.
But when asked if she was prepared to lead the country into a no deal Brexit, she said: “I have always said that no deal was better than a bad deal. What we have on the table is a good deal.”
She added: “I am continuing to listen to colleagues and will continue to talk to colleagues about this and we are continuing to talk with the European Union about the further assurances that can give MPs the confidence of knowing that they can support this deal.”
"In my view there should not be a second #Brexit referendum" – UK PM Theresa May says it would divide the country and it could not be held before March 29 https://t.co/oqrR38fGIw #marr pic.twitter.com/gk5nTSPsuZ
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 6, 2019
May also denied reports that she is preparing to delay the vote a second time for the week beginning 14 January, saying: “We will be holding the vote.”
The PM also refused to put a timescale on her departure after she told her colleagues in the Conservative party that she would not lead them into another general election.
“I was clear before Christmas with my colleagues on two things: one, I’m not going to call a snap election and secondly that I’m not going to be leading the party into the 2022 general election,” she said.
“What colleagues have said they want me to do is to deliver Brexit, which is what I am working on doing, and also deliver on the agenda I set out when I first became prime minister.”
