Saturday 15 September 2018 10:21 am

Labour will vote against Theresa May’s Brexit deal, says shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has said Labour would most likely vote against any Brexit deal Theresa May brings back from Brussels.

The frontbencher told the FT she "can't see" the government reaching an agreement that would meet Labour's six key tests, one of which is that Britain would continue to enjoy the same benefits on leaving the EU that current membership.

Thornberry said yesterday the party would not agree to an eventual deal or back a no-deal, in which the UK wold crash out on the EU and default on trading terms set by the World Trade Organisation.

Labour would instead push for a general election. "We're either going to have a general election in the autumn or we're going to have it in the spring."

She added: "Even if [the government] comes back in October, November, and they say, 'this flimsy bit of paper is what you're going to have to agree to, otherwise there'll be no-deal'. We're not going to agree to either of those."

Prime minister Theresa May has come under fire from all sides of the Brexit divide for her Chequers proposal, in which a free trade area would be created with the EU for goods and agriculture. Former former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said the plan was akin to "wrapping a suicide vest" around the British constitution, while former minister and remainer Nick Boles also came out against the idea in favour of remain in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Ministers are hoping to finalise a deal by October or November. The UK is set to leave the bloc on 29 March 2019.