i think that is right, and the dup's position is very clear on the dup's position is very clear on the northern ireland backstop. and thatis the northern ireland backstop. and that is why i am afraid i think that the deal that has been brought to parliament, i don't know what she will be able to negotiate at the european council meeting but i think it is unlikely to get there the house, the sooner we get through that stage of considering whatever deal we have got, only then can we move on, yes, these are lots of risks involved in this, but at the same time there should be a way through it if we are prepared to start debating properly. if and when she wins and she goes to brussels for the summit, what does she need to do? i have no objection her going to do? i have no objection her going to brussels pointing out to them the difficulty which the withdrawal deal pose, and asking our eu partners if they are prepared to change it. i personally don't think they will, but i don't object to the prime minister making that requests and she is entitled to come back to the commons and tell us wher

, the irish backstop —— the dup. something the prime minister had to do yesterday if she hadn't had the tory leadership many psychodrama was to go to dublin to talk to the overripe cut in some depth about the prospect of tweaking the deal on the backstop —— to leo varadkar. sublime confidence doesn't just take backstop —— to leo varadkar. sublime confidence doesn'tjust take place in the building behind me, it also ta kes pla ce in the building behind me, it also takes place between fine gael and thin foil, interesting move in the past 2a hours that fine gael, the partner to keep leo varadkar in power, has decided to extend the life of that supply and confidence arrangement in till 20. it looks like ireland isn't going to see a general election in the coming 12 months —— until 2020. general election in the coming 12 months -- until2020. thanks, iain. thank you for your company. as you can see behind me, the lights are coming on in parliament. you can see a few windows with the lights on. it is the morning

theresa may depends on the support of the dup. the party will vote against the brexit deal, but won't get collapse the government. forged by the fiery preacher ian paisley, the dup was founded to protect the union, so could his son, now prevent a deal that treats northern ireland differently to the rest of the uk? this is about making sure we get the best deal for the whole of the united kingdom, that we work with conservative government, if they are not prepared to work with is, they know the power we wield here. do you think people outside northern ireland care about northern ireland as much as you do? the ordinary punter gets it, they are not stupid. the union is for everyone, no matter your caste, creed, identity, gender, it's for all of us. the dup are not fazed when the government tries to get them to act ina certain government tries to get them to act in a certain way. they've had years and years of tough peace process negotiations, they've gone eyeball to eyeball with sinn fein who are equally tough on the other side of no

may i say that while the dup have ten mps in this house, the dup have ten mps in this house, the dup campaignfor dup have ten mps in this house, the dup campaign for leave. the majority of people in northern ireland, like me, campaignfor of people in northern ireland, like me, campaign for remain, so the dup do not speak for the majority of people 7 do not speak for the majority of people ? cheering ican people ? cheering i can reassure the prime minister that her withdrawal agreement has considerable support in northern ireland, particularly amongst farmers, businesses and fishermen. i'm soy that people feel it is funny. it isn't, it is serious for the people of northern ireland. the issue that needs reassurance from the prime minister is the constitutional guarantee of the good friday agreement that the labour party should be proud of, which has guaranteed —— which is guaranteed in the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration. why the labour party goes against it beats me but will the prime minister give a constitutional agreement that nothing will threaten the belfas

you say it's not down to the dup to decide policy, we have beenin the dup to decide policy, we have been ina the dup to decide policy, we have been in a position where yesterday a vote was pulled, the bill the prime minister wants to get through, she couldn't even put because she knows there is no way it is going to go through. the prime minister is dammed if she did and dammed if she didn't with regards to that. if she hadn't have listened to those three days of debate and carried on regardless she would have been accused of being arrogant. because she did listen and say there is a major theme coming through on all sides of the house with concerns about the backstop, i will press the pause button on this debate, not cancel it but pause it and go back and see if i can get clarification, greater assurance which may help parliament come to an majority view to support the deal. i think that is the action of a responsible states person who is thinking about the national interest and trying to square a very difficult parliamentary circle. she should be applauded rather than condemned. joining

it does not get the dup back on board to restore our majority in the house of commons. how is the government going to function moving forward with white deadlock? it deadlock amid stalemate, unless you thejeremy corbyn's labour party is going to... if he brings a vote of no—confidence in this government, he does not have the numbers without the dup. but he might have the numbers if some conservative mps go across and join him. do you think it's likely some conservative mps would do that?|j conservative mps would do that?” would hope not. for all disputes... i cannot speak for any other conservative mp but i would notjoin labour a vote of no—confidence against the government. whatever you think about the options for brexit, or your peers might be of... the danger of the jeremy corbyn government is on a constant scale far worse than that. this is not the end of it, as you say. that confidence motion may come. if she was not to win document we could be backin was not to win document we could be back in his position with the next fortnight. the prime minister conceded

it's obvious that we need to do some work rebuilding the relationship with the dup. these are the ulster unionists, dumb card unionist party, on which mrs me depends to govern for a majority, she has lost over her brexit steel, they have said they will not vote for anything which has this backstop in it, how does she get them back? well, she's speaking with arlene foster and nigel dodds, the leader of the party... but they don't want this at all? they said they don't like this deal, the prime minister is making it clear that she needs to renegotiate the backstop. and there are huge challenges. hold on, the prime minister has been to germany, she has been to holland, she may know go down to ireland if she wins tonight, can you give me any indication that the europeans are prepared to renegotiate the backstop? well, they've said they're not prepared but actually, throughout this whole process, what they've said publicly and what they've said publicly and what they've done actually in the negotiating room has been subtly different. so the prime minister is giving it her

if we continue with this leader and lose the dup we will be ina this leader and lose the dup we will be in a general election, in government but not in power. if we continue with theresa may ? everybody makes empty threats but you think the dup threat, in other words the threats you would like to be serious, you regard those as serious. as andrew was just saying, i think they are serious but they fear the backstop less than they fear the backstop less than they fearjeremy corbyn. they would rather they would rather have jeremy corbyn than the backstop. heidi, back to you for a final word. i like wild and crazy ideas. never mind the dup and crazy ideas. never mind the dup and the hard brexiteers, what about the prime minister reaching out, because this is beyond party politics now, reaches across the commons and finds a deal that everybody can support and collectively involves the general public. it should notjust be about the tory party. it's a national debate and more important than petty squabbling. it needs to involve the whole of parliament and the british people. and what chance

theresa may depends on the support of the dup. the party will vote against the brexit deal but won't get collapse the government. forged by the fiery preacher ian paisley, the dup was founded to protect the union, so could his son, now prevent a deal that treats northern ireland differently to the rest of the uk? this is about making sure we get the best dealfor this is about making sure we get the best deal for the whole of the united kingdom, that we work with conservative government, if they are not prepared to work with is, they know the power we wield here. do you think people outside northern ireland care about northern ireland as much as you do? the ordinary punter gets it, they are not stupid. the union is for everyone, no matter your caste, creed, identity, gender, it's for all of us. they've had years and years of tough peace process negotiations, they've gone eyeball to process negotiations, they've gone eye ball to eye ball with process negotiations, they've gone eyeball to eyeball with sinn fein who are equally tough

tories and the dup would have to vote for it. meanwhile, unless mrs may manages to somehow get a better deal in brussels, the uk would be on course to leave the eu with no deal at all. but the idea of what brexiteers sometimes call a clean brexit is just not that simple any more. mps voted yesterday to give themselves power to decide the country's next steps if mrs may is defeated, and there's no majority in parliament for a no—deal brexit. so, what then? there is support, within both main parties, for negotiating a new deal, outside the eu but close to it — a norway—style brexit, though brexiteers call that brexit in name only, brino, taking eu rules without shaping them, continuing free movement of people in and out of britain. in the end, could parliament simply fail to approve any solution and turn back to the people? well, a general election is one way and it's labour's first choice. it's hard to imagine, but even that can't be entirely ruled out. otherwise, the idea that seemed all but impossible until recently may be

the dup say they will support her in a confidence motion so there does not seem much point in doing that so we are in the position of waiting to see how she explains this. i think your point about survival, to me, thatis your point about survival, to me, that is what this is about. that is about her knowing it is day by day at the moment, her survival as prime minister. the reason she did not go ahead with the vote is the defeat looked so enormous she could not guarantee staying in herjob. a smaller defeat would allow her to be defeated and go back to brussels and say i told you so, but she could not risk it because it looked like the scale of defeat would be huge. she has spoken to donald tusk and angela merkel at the weekend and other senior figures, merkel at the weekend and other seniorfigures, and merkel at the weekend and other senior figures, and the merkel at the weekend and other seniorfigures, and the only merkel at the weekend and other senior figures, and the only way out of this is some sort of compromise from the eu? she also spoke to leo varadkar, and the irish backstop be

the dup brexit spokesman. this morning cabinet minister amber rudd was asked about may delaying the vote. reporter: is the prime ministerjust running down the clock? the prime minister's got my full support, as she has the cabinet's, to try and improve the withdrawal agreement so that we can get this agreement through parliament. it's really important that we deliver what people have asked us to do. we have one deal, it's on the table, i really hope we can get it through parliament. she's not going to get any improvements, is she? don't be a pessimist, let's wait and see. she's putting everything she's got into this, and i think she deserves our full support for trying to do that. thank you. will we get a vote before christmas? i don't know, it will depend what process she makes... what progress she makes, but i certainly hope so, we'll see. thank you very much. i'm joined now by dawn foster — guardian columnist and supporter of a people's vote — and olivia utley from the article and a contributor to natio

how the government carries on its business without completely refreshing its relationship with the dup because we don't have an overall majority at the moment we rely on the dup to support the conservative government, but they're very angry with theresa may because of the deal, that she brought back from the european union, which they regard as a very deep the trailer promises they made to the status of northern eyelid and the uk as we did the eu, and there is no sign that can be repaired, she breached it, she's gone back to brussels to see what reassurances can be given, but there is no prospect at any substantial change in that draft agreement. talking earlier, i'm pleased to say joining me now are henry newman, from 0pen europe, and dr catherine haddon, from the institute for government. it's one of those moments where the prime minister goes back to downing street and sits there and waits for the call from sir graham brady there's nothing she can do. know, it's there's nothing she can do. know, its extraordinary dissuading for them to vote and we are now waiting for the conservativ

the backstop is held up because of the dup. if you remove the dup committee conservative party had a majority, even with the erg, she could have got that through. that is why she called the election, she thought she was going to win with a big majority. jeremy corbyn calls it a chaotic government and he wa nts to calls it a chaotic government and he wants to face a no—confidence vote in the commons. the independent are asking some questions, saying that he is still on the fence. we are hearing from our sources that she will not allow the no—confidence vote. he has his own problem. the labour party, and he claims he could doa labour party, and he claims he could do a better deal but there is no evidence he could. the labour party is split itself. we have been dealing with the conservative party's split because that is out of the open but jeremy party's split because that is out of the open butjeremy corbyn is trying to play a clever game. what does no—confidence in the prime minister mean? it's a ridiculous idea. in the go

the dup are very clear that honoured theissuance the dup are very clear that honoured the issuance —— that no reassurance would be good for them, they want the whole thing reopened. downing street saying everything is on the table but it doesn't sound from what the prime minister is saying and what people are saying behind the scenes that that is really an option because they keep talking about the downsizing of opening the withdrawal agreement and it's not clear that the eu would budge on this anyway so i think it is a major problem for the prime minister, i think she has bought herself more time today, but i'm not sure she's going to get enough to please those people and the dup or indeed some of her own backbenchers. some of the brexiteers on her own side and about to go off to their weekly meeting and some of them have been saying to me that they think the most likely thing is that this vote of confidence in her leadership could be triggered if those a8 letters go in. i think the problem for them is that we have heard it all before and it didn't materialise. the question is whethe

-thetill need the dup - conservative party still needs the dup to get it over the line. 52% of the people represents such a big change in terms of what people thought. the country wants to leave. they were so scared by the referendum result, campaign that they still voted to leave. that 52% is not represented in the house of commons. what we are dealing with his ministers and opposition parties who are trying to frustrate brexit. believe wheezing the union is bad for this country. the british people voted leave. us who extent, those of invited the party to have this probably a lot of us voted no-confidence on the prime minister, we represent the 52%. they are not going to go away. i guess we can guess -- guy: i guess we can debate what represents mean, but we will come back to that another time. bernard: that's a deep question. guy: let's talk about what would get -- what would satisfy the dup? bernard: they want the backstop in any form. they don't want the u.k. to be evading any backstop of this nature because it increases the republic of ireland -- sorry, fromern ireland different the

your agreement with the fizz out of party in the dup says, the dup agrees to support the government on all motions of confidence. we have had the labour party say that if theresa may's dealers folded down, as you would hope it would be, he will move the motion of no—confidence in government. presumably the government. presumably the government would be confident she would never support that because your agreement says he would be with the government when it comes to the crunch. if this deal is voted down we have no reason to have no confidence in the government's even though they are the ones pushing it? this deal would be dead in the water and the government would be forced to change policy. that is what our intention is, get this deal voted down, get the government to get on track for a more realistic deal and a deal, more importantly, which delivers on their manifesto and the commitments which the prime minister made time and time again since the referendum. the prime minister must be bitterly regretted doing this deal with you if you record policy but then helped to leave her in

because without the dup we cannot govern and if it is acceptable to the dup it stands a good chance of getting through the house. that is a big if because it is going to have to be legally binding and europe has said it is not going to do that. what can she produced that you think will bring the dup back? what people say in public and what they do behind closed doors are different. there will be an addition that will be binding on both parties which will say we have the right to leave the backstop at a predetermined date. she will get that and if she gets that it might be acceptable to the dup. the amendment to avoid no deal, what do you make of that? this isa deal, what do you make of that? this is a big grey area as to whether any amendment is legally binding if it is not part of legislation unless it comes from government itself. we do not want to get into those fights. we need her to come back with europe having common sense and realising that crashing out with no deal does not help them or us and we have got three months to sort out and have common sense. we have to live with e

i think the dup isa in place of any sort. i think the dup is a crucial part, partners to the conservative party. a bit like a backstop in ireland, are the dup being used? how committed really would everyone be to the dup's concerns if they weren't dependent on them for votes? if you are in a situation where there is a general election, that might change things slightly, but i think they have huge leveraged at the moment. and in terms of this year for the government, george osborne spoke this weekend, he said theresa may was a dead woman walking last year after that rather disastrous general election campaign, his argument is that the mistakes she made at the start was to embrace the 17 million who voted to leave and effectively say to the 60 million who voted to say, we are not interested in you, the decision is made, and she has ended up in the position she should have started with. i think he is right and it is fascinating because when she first became prime minister, she was in a strong position. she behaved weekly, she fe

not only does she need the support of her own backbenchers, she needs the support of dup, and from what they are saying, they do not support a deal and they will not support her as long as that is the deal. that is another important consideration. when that was raised in discussion as well. the prime minister is clear in wanting to make sure that we bring back a deal that works for the entire country. that is an important point. philip hammond, the chancellor, was saying he was looking forward to this vote because it would flush out the extremists, will that language bring the party back together? the prime minister was very clear about bringing people together, it was a conciliatory speech and discussion, between of course people who have printed letters for this vote over the last weeks and days, and also those of us who want to get on brexit, so that we can then get on with the big exciting agenda that we have got on the domestic front. i am the health secretary, i want to get on with improving the nhs, making sure it is therefore everybody in the long term. this is a government that

parliament, not within the conservative party that the rest of parliament, the labour party, the snp, the dup, given the outcome of this vote, is she strengthened or weaken in that

he said the dup will float with the government. but the risk of them losing an election will go up if the withdrawal agreement goes view. is that your position quiz that has been our position quiz that has been our position both privately and publicly now since the details were revealed. two we e ks now since the details were revealed. two weeks ago or three weeks ago. the government knows that well and we have explained that to them. indeed they have a foretaste of what it would mean death to govern without our support yesterday when they had a humiliating climb down and having to release it legal advice being held in contempt of parliament. i think the message advice being held in contempt of parliament. ithink the message has got over to the government. you cannot break your agreement with us because there was an agreement, a clear agreement that the government would ensure that northern ireland was treated the same as the rest of the united kingdom. that is not true with this withdrawal agreement if it is voted on next week, it

there is lot of talk with about the dup. they have been saying that a lot. it is interesting that those brexiteers in the party, the european research group, they are clearly focussing on that, and they are saying, look, this prime minister, theresa may, cannot bring the dup back in to the fold, that is their main argument for triggering this challenge against her, and that i say that is the reason they want to change the leader, because they don't think the dup can be brought back into the fold, which means that she doesn't have a majority to govern. that is, i think, she doesn't have a majority to govern. that is, ithink, the she doesn't have a majority to govern. that is, i think, the fear among lots of people, notjust the brexiteers but how the party assuming she win, how they can carry on, geta assuming she win, how they can carry on, get a deal and get through the very difficult legislation that has to pass through the house of commons. so that is a real concern for lots of mps, regardless of tonight. tonight. most feel she is going to win this vote. m

the dup. that lot. democratic unionist party. i believe they have £1 billion for northern ireland if they voted with the government on things like budget. they are going to vote against them oi'i they are going to vote against them on this one. it is spoiling to be a really difficult vote on december the 11th or theresa may and for those who are supporting her. there appears to be some semblance of legal advice, just not the full amount. the suggestion is the speaker may try and force the government to reveal the full legal advice. they have got a motion through the house to mandate the government to do that. this is looming to be a constitutional crisis if the government refuses to adhere to parliament‘s orders. this final bullet point, loss of faith in politicians could lead to civil unrest. i think that‘s fascinating. the whole tenor of this debate has become toxic. look what is happening in france. in this case, sadly, violent fury. the sense they are being ignored by the establishment. in paris, but also in this country

i think the real issue is the dup. i've got some collea g u es real issue is the dup. i've got some colleagues and my party who would rather have no deal and would rather vote against it. the dup have signified the opera sensible brexit deal but are very concerned about the implications of this draft on their position in the united kingdom and that is where the prime minister needs to focus. you think if she can get something that reassures them on the backstop, the loyalists within the backstop, the loyalists within the conservative party plus some labourmps, she can the conservative party plus some labour mps, she can get this over the line? it's a possibility. nicky morganjust said the line? it's a possibility. nicky morgan just said a lot of people don't want this to work but are crying foul because they actually would like this to be an ordeal. crying foul because they actually would like this to be an ordeallj think would like this to be an ordeal.” think the most likely thing —— he would like this to be a note deal —— no. my no. my advice to the prime

as to the dup and the ha rd for smuggling. as to the dup and the hard brexiteers in the conservative party, they are saying this is all a fuss about nothing and it could be solved by technology. but nobody has yet seen this technology and it does not appear to work anywhere else.- both of you, thank you for the moment. we are almost at the end of oui’ moment. we are almost at the end of our first half an hour. christian and rob will be back later. if you have got more questions, send them to us and we will work through them in the next half an hour. we will take a look at some of our weather stories from around the world and we start off in the united states were a big winter storm went through over the course of the weekend. in north carolina we had heavy falls of snow. the amount of snow varied significantly, but some communities had well over a foot, over 30 centimetres, in places. that led to significant power cuts to hundreds of thousands of people. on monday there was a mixture of light snow and freezing rain. generall

very briefly, the dup, any move by where they stand? no considerable changes tonight, but we have had them at that meeting with the conservative brexiteers group and the —— we have heard to sources that nigel, the leader of the dup has told various conservatives that if there is a vote of no—confidence, it there is a vote of no—confidence, it the prime minister loses the vote on tuesday and an opposition party forte boasts —— vote of no confidence they will backer to you government empowered to deliver what they think will be a better brexit and what is not clear though it that vote on her brexit plan passes and if her plan is adopted, what they will do then. there are some brexiteers who feared that case a general election becomes more likely. thank you very much indeed for bringing us up to date with the latest and now, we're joined now by sir vince cable, leader of the liberal democrats. thank you forjoining us. you now have that full legal advice, has it made any difference to your view on the boat and the deal that ther

frankly, the dup and windowdressing. frankly, the dup and conservative mps will not fall for that. there is talk of something slightly different alongside new withdrawal agreement. everybody accepts that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened. talking more about how the uk would get out of the backstop. the way to do that would be because a trade agreement has been delivered. tory mps feel that the eu would drag their feet ever that. if they could have something alongside that talks about those are best endeavours but makes it a bit more legally watertight, then be used by the uk when it goes to this arbitration panel. that's the kind of thing being cocked about. it hasn't happened previously on other occasions. that would be enough for some, but maybe not enough for all. the problem is always the numbers. the problem is always the numbers. the other numbers tonight that are being attacked our whether those tory mps began enough letters to call for a vote of no—confidence in the prime ministers. she's in europe the prime ministers. she's in europe the wildfires there. she

and they think so with the dup. although he we are on the sunday telegraph, theresa may losing grip as party rocked by resignations. the one we have reported tonight is will quince. he has stepped down because he said he cannot support this withdrawal agreement. it has taken some time for him to decide that. so is he? but not to worry. this is the moment where they stand up and write is very moving letters. he is the lowest is very moving letters. he is the lowe st ru ng is very moving letters. he is the lowest rung of the ministerial ladder. it comes after cabinet ministers have resigned, boris johnson, david davis, dominic raack, they have gone. there are real problems. whether or not she is totally losing the grip, who knows? we are in such a state of confusion fiow. we are in such a state of confusion now. the interesting thing for this will be is graham brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, gets his 48 signatures which would trigger a leadership... that is the thing. election. we talked about the labour pa

that is not enough most of the people over there who are not happy, including the dup, who don't sound as if they can be one over. we know what europe is saying already and we heard it again this morning, there is no give there is there? no, it is if she can come back with the rewording of something which could be enough for some tory mps, maybe those who have gone public with going against it, who wa nt to public with going against it, who want to change their mind. there isn't a lot of optimism over there from people she will get anything meaningful. but what are the alternatives? this has always been theissue, alternatives? this has always been the issue, alternative leader, alternative prime minister? the parliamentary arithmetic stays the same, that doesn't help without a general election. i know we have heard this before, but the letters. . . heard this before, but the letters... i was going to say something along those lines, 48 letters, we have been there before. we know that some more signatories have been gained on that? we know that some more signatories have been gained on

what about the dup? they are some of the hardy eurosce ptics what about the dup? they are some of the hardy eurosceptics out there. as long as the backstop is still in play, they are definitely listening. sammy wilson is really angry, but it is notjust theresa may reaching across party divides. they are seriously considering voting with labour, the snp and the lib dems in a vote of no—confidence in the prime. there is a feeling of anger out there. they said they had to flush out the eurosceptics, which they have gone mad about this morning. what are your thoughts about a vote of no—confidence in the government? it is the nuclear option. it would be very extreme if that were to happen. it is unlikely, but the fact that the tories are seriously talking about it tells you the level of anger and frustration, because they didn't get their way, did not oust theresa may and she is still in office and still going to brussels to try to save her deal. you would start to see the government trying to make moves to stop that happening. one thing people have suggested she s

|j wa nt colleagues in the dup on that.” wa nt to colleagues in the dup on that.” want to ask you. you are privy to the conversations being had before the conversations being had before the vote was cast, from the prime minister herself, trying to continue to get the support that she needed isa to get the support that she needed is a desperately this evening. there we re is a desperately this evening. there were concessions she made saying she will not stand in the 2022 election. how much has that so too weaken the position going forward? the prime minister has always said that she will serve for as long as the party wa nted will serve for as long as the party wanted her to serve. that is something she has reaffirmed tonight. had she wanted to deliver through —— how she wanted to deliver through —— how she wanted to deliver through the next general election, how she wanted to respond to the mistake she felt she made... vote for me to night and i will not be here tomorrow, that was part of the deal. it comes down to that sense of servers that underpins, i suppose, the prime

northern ireland's dup could force her from office. we may face a vote of confidence in the house. how can we rely on the dup to support us when they are so fundamentally offside on this agreement? theresa may leaves behind a divided party. her chancellor talks about flushing out extremists. the former leader has said that kind of talk a bit the end of the party as we know it, and a minister has said after the apocalypse or that are left are ants and tory mps complaining about europe and their leader. the tall orderfor europe and their leader. the tall order for theresa may is she europe and their leader. the tall orderfor theresa may is she must heal those divisions in little more than a month. mps will vote on the fourth the 21st of january. if it is rejected she has until the 11th of february to rethink which doesn't give much time for the eu parliament to give its approval. theresa may how to give its approval. theresa may now needs to build bridges with her owh now needs to build bridges with her own backbenchers and she will be reflecting on the fact that it is easier to win

the deal will from the dup is with the conservative party, not theresa may. if the conservative party wa nted not theresa may. if the conservative party wanted to retain the support of the dup that would presumably involve getting rid of it is a may. i want the prime minister to get a deal through parliament. if she insists on pressing the book next week and gets defeated, i wanted to respond to that by listening to the message sent by conservative collea g u es message sent by conservative colleagues and our dup allies and go back to the european union on the council meeting and tell them the backstop needs to come out of the deal. if she does that then comes back with that change withdrawal agreement i think you will get it through and get the dup back on board. you have cited your criticism of the norway plus option, but when you see heavy with figures like damian green, michael fallon and so on, are you concerned that is where parliament could be heading, because it is conceivable you could also find middle ground labour mps who might also support that op

changed, which is of course the dup‘s redlined. changed, which is of course the dup's redlined. why does he go back at all? to brussels? we've been saying that as long as we have the withdrawal agreement, that is eight, don't come back for anything different. it was very clear. i think she went back because she had to. i think she felt she had to go. it was planned. and we did hear that even it was planned. and we did hear that evenif it was planned. and we did hear that even if she had lost the leadership of conservative party on wednesday night, she was the one to go to brussels on thursday morning. she had this land. i guess to do it to try and save face to show members of her own party that there are still a lot more than she can do. some idea that so much of this is about show and it is about negotiations being kind of theatrical and taking it to the wire. and that theresa may is pa rt of the wire. and that theresa may is part of this game. so many of the papers have said how completely humiliating it was for her to come back completely empty— handed. humiliating it was f

she has the dup, which are propping her up. they are dup, which are propping her up. they a re clearly dup, which are propping her up. they are clearly lukewarm about certain things, clearly angry about some of the things in her brexit withdrawal agreement. that is not functioning properly. she does not have a majority. the issue is divisive. we are majority. the issue is divisive. we a re left majority. the issue is divisive. we are left in this situation where she has the best deal she think she can get and she wants to get up maybe now at seven o'clock this evening and start making that case again at the beginning of five days of debate to win over mps. there is the possibility that if this dominic grieve amendment goes through later, it could help her case because she can't go to the brexiteers and say, look, it could be very inserting. if you vote down my deal, you have no guarantee of what kind of deal you are going to get and the possibility again of no brexit, she will say, is there and it is a very live debate. things can change in five days but asi things ca

the dup one not vote in theresa may‘s favour. the dup one not vote in theresa may's favour. there are concerns about the legal technicalities of the backstop, just... talking about whether this government can survive the week. my understanding is the dup said they would support the government in a confidence motion. they have said they would not support. they have said that they would not vote against the government in a confidence motion. they would not be supporting labour ina they would not be supporting labour in a motion of no confidence. the dup's in a motion of no confidence. the dup‘s position is going to be critical. the arithmetic has not changed since the general election. although a lot of us would want to see a change of government and so forth and that arithmetic is not changing, vicki is doing very well asa changing, vicki is doing very well as a loyal conservative member of parliament, deserves great marks for it. theirjobs and livelihoods that on the line. it is still an option to remain, it is liable for the public, if they wish to choose it. the public c

johnson labour leadership to vote with the likes of borisjohnson and jacob rees—mogg, to vote with the dup, because you want an election and to embarrass the tory government? that's not the case, the deal we have on the table will leave britain poorer and the government's treasury analysis showed gdp will shrink by 3.9% and that wasn't even an analysis of theresa may's deal, that was an analysis of the chequers deal, this deal is even worse. is there any conceivable deal, deal between now and then that you could vote for? that is what we have been pushing for. theresa may used a very careful turn of phrase. she gave the impression today that she was going to go to brussels and renegotiate one key part of the withdrawal agreement, the backstop. but when pressed on whether she would amend the legal wording within the text, she simply said she was going to seek assurances. that didn't give any confidence she was seeking to renegotiate anything within the withdrawal agreement. it is notjust the backstop that is an issue, there isa numberof the backstop that is an issue, there is a number of pr

what is a state of the relationship between the dup and government? fractures, scratchy, arm's—length, called what you will, it seems to me that the dup are now pretty much severing their ties with the government. we have seen that in a series of votes recently. no confidence, no supply? we will see when we get there, there was a lot of blood going on here. the dup want to put the pressure on mrs me to leave open the possibility that we are not going to help you in future if you press ahead with this. they will certainly vote against the deal. what they will do next, we don't know. is your thoughts on the opinion issued by the advocate general, the european court of justice's advocate general saying that the uk could withdraw itself from brexit effectively. it does provide a route for those trying to plot another path, because if mrs may‘s deal goes down, whatever you wa nt to may‘s deal goes down, whatever you want to do, whether you want a second referendum, you want norway and canada, you will need time and the one way to get time is to exten

for the british conservatives, that is anthe dup, abomination. said, whenever you make a speech impression, you have to always talk about the u.k., not great britain. you cannot encompass northern ireland in that. >> even before theresa may was elected, she was making great to mention before the alliance of the dup. >> thank you for joining us. btp yields are falling after the italian prime minister proposed to reduce the deficit targets to 2.04% for 2019. a significants concession to the european commission, which previously rejected the country's target of 2.4%. set. is still with us on what do you think about this concession? i found it surprising that they had gone pretty far considering that in between these targets we 3.5% the french may go to next year. i find it humorous on a number of levels. the government does not care about the decimal places. deficit can be delivered, that is fantastic for btp. the tenure spread can come in below 250 basis points. it could improve the performance of the real economy. >> this is one of the most import

furthermore the dup will not either. so long as we end up will not either. so long as we end up witha will not either. so long as we end up with a government that actually subscribes to the constitutional arrangements for northern ireland, and that is what is at risk here, there will be no change in our position regarding the government. do you accept the backstop has got to be changed radically for people like bill to vote for this deal?” a cce pta ble like bill to vote for this deal?” acceptable bill and his others this is an important issue, very true. but life is about compromise. if they stick to this inflexible view... they stick to this inflexible view. . . this they stick to this inflexible view... this is capitulation, richard. please let me finish. i allowed you to finish. if they stick to this lack of flexibility and dogma they will cause a people's vote and people will probably vote to remain and that is not what they want. i respect the result of the last referendum but it is about compromise. that is what the prime and it is doing to protec

but there aren't many people in the house of commons think that will be enough to bring the dup and some conservative mps. —— to bring them onside. the problem she's got is that people in her own cabinet are talking about planned the. they're not just cabinet are talking about planned the. they're notjust talking about her deal. they are looking at what is going to happen. two is a ball that movie even though it clear to lots of mps that this cannot get through the house of commons, even if she comes back from the draft week in january. if she comes back from the draft week injanuary. we're left in this strange limbo with the clock ticking. another minister i spoke to say that the still feel that they've enough time if the conflict in january to get a bit three. —— to get a vote for you. it feels as if she's backing down, yet, she's sticking to that one path that she has been on since the beginning. to be clear, that is no plan b? that oui’ be clear, that is no plan b? that our plan b is being cooked up by other people, but not by the prime minister. we note in her cabinet, oth

dup are elected. it's always seemed to be a strange thing to me. the business people actually want what's happening. they want this special relationship with the eu. they do get it, it is to their advantage, but something seems to happen when it gets into the polling booths and they're confronted with the dup. that seems to me to be the problem that because of this reduction of our entity, and austin was right, there was a better deal in 1994. there was. but what we've got now we've got now. and the point of changing that discussing the reduction of these two camps is a huge loss to me, the eu, but the thing that's guaranteed my involvement with the european union is that i have two passports. and i've always been very happy to be a european unionist. it's all the incredible anomaly of being a northerner and a southerner at the same time for me, because i could be happily -- while at first i couldn't happily claim to be a unionist, i can happily claim to be a european unionist. and i know that the gre

we are waiting to see where the dup vote and her own party. she needs not only all of their party but also the dup to support her to avoid that a vote of confidence going against her. at the moment, the dup had said they would support her in that despite likely voting down her deal. where they stand now, we don't know. it might depend on how she handles this afternoon.“ is interesting the comments themselves putting out a twitter q&a because we are in uncharted waters. we are and everybody was expecting to be talking about the big game which was tomorrow. we try to answer all these questions in the commons library but they are like everyone else and firing off different a nswe i’s else and firing off different a nswers to else and firing off different answers to questions this has thrown up. if the prime minister is trying to buy time, how much time has she bought? possibly until after christmas but it depends on how her party reacts today, whether they trigger those 48 letters, whether at the commons is able to find some kind of mechanism

, and theirmps other than northern ireland's dup, and their mps usually pop up prime minister's minority government, so this could be the shape of things to come. the really big vote is not today, it is next week when mps decide whether to back the brexit deal. today's debate made it clear the scale of opposition that the prime minister is likely to face. yes, as iian watson was saying it, the day's debate could indicate what is going to happen. thank you so much forjoining us so early. —— could indicate the level of opposition. having the attorney general come to address mps, that was historic. it is very unusual, it has happened before but it is very unusualfor has happened before but it is very unusual for the attorney general, the government's chief law officer in effect inside the government, come into parliament and make the case really for why the particular version of the advice that has been given to the government about the brexit process should be published only as a summary, so it is all about whether the summary is produced or whether the whole document. back in november

she received little support from her backbenchers or dup partners. she clearly doesn't listen. as what my right honourable friend says and what my right honourable friend does no longer match, should i not write to my right honourable friend the member for altrincham and sail west? this backstop is completely intolerable, and i feel confident that, even in the unlikely event that legislation for it reaches this house, it will be ferociously opposed. there seems to be a certain interest in today's proceedings. a group of tory brexiteers decided now was their moment, and tried to trigger a leadership challenge, by encouraging colleagues to submit letters to the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee. many claimed they no longer had confidence in theresa may. but the group failed to get the required number of mps to back their plan at this stage. how's the newjob? stephen barclay was named as the new brexit secretary, and amber rudd returned to the cabinet as work and pensions secretary. and, finally, after more than 18 months of negotiations, eu leaders endorsed the brexit with