Donald Tusk’s message to MPs: UK cannot renegotiate Brexit deal

European Council president Donald Tusk ruled out renegotiating Theresa May’s Brexit deal today, saying if parliament rejects the agreement then Britain must either crash out of the EU with no deal or abandon Brexit altogether.

“A few days before the vote in the House of Commons, it is becoming more and more clear that this deal is the best possible — in fact, the only possible one,” Tusk told Reuters at the G20 summit in Argentina today.

He said: “If this deal is rejected in the Commons, we are left with … an alternative: no deal or no Brexit at all. I want to reassure you that the EU is prepared for every scenario.”

The Prime Minister is still hoping her deal will be voted through by MPs on 11 December, despite deep parliamentary divisions. 

Today she urged MPs to consider the “jobs and livelihoods” of their constituents when deciding how to vote on the Brexit deal.

“The focus of myself and the government is on the vote that is taking place on 11 December. We will be explaining to members of parliament why we believe that this is a good deal for the UK,” May told reporters on the plane to the G20 summit in Argentina when asked if she had a plan B, Reuters reported.

“I ask every member of parliament to think about delivering on the Brexit vote and doing it in a way that is in the national interest and doing it in a way that is in the interests of their constituents because it protects jobs and livelihoods.”