Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown seeks assurances from the Prime Minister that the backstop alternative arrangements option - the Brady amendment and Malthouse compromise - will be put forward to the EU as this is the only option that has secured a majority in Parliament.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
The Prime Minister’s resolve—especially with her lack of sleep—in trying to persuade this House to come up with an acceptable solution to our Brexit problem is to be highly commended. In return, will she continue to resolve to press our European partners for the only thing that has had a majority in this House, namely the Brady amendment combined with the Malthouse compromise?
The Prime Minister
The position on the withdrawal agreement has been reiterated by the European Council, but of course the point of the Brady amendment was that alternative arrangements should be in place that could replace the backstop. One of the things that we have agreed with the European Union is a timetable for work on those alternative arrangements. As I indicated earlier, the Government have committed funding for the work that is necessary to ensure that we will be in a position such that, at the end of December 2020, the backstop would not need to be used and that, if interim arrangements were necessary, those alternative arrangements would be available.