Theresa May eviscerated Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy and people are speechless
Theresa May just took a clear jab at the government’s handling of Brexit.
And people are seemingly praising her for it.
Let’s go back.
On Sunday, the Financial Times reported that the UK is planning new legislation that will override key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, which was finalised last year.
According to insiders, the new legislation is expected to “eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement” in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs.
The complete plan for the new legislation is expected to be announced on Wednesday and people are not happy about it. This forced the government to deny that it was "ripping up" the Withdrawal Agreement.
Essentially, critics argue any changing of the agreement – that was signed on 24 January – would undermine trust between the UK and the EU.
And Theresa May is one of those critics.
Standing up in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the former PM said:
The UK Government signed the withdrawal agreement with the Northern Ireland protocol. This parliament voted that withdrawal agreement into UK legislation. The government is now changing the operation of that agreement.
Given that, how can the government reassure future international partners that the UK can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of the agreements it signs?
Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, responded:
We have worked with the EU in a spirit of good faith and I know we continue to do that – both sides working in a spirit of good faith to ensure that we do implement the arrangements which uphold the fundamental principles that lie behind the protocol.
People were impressed that Theresa May was calling out the apparent disparity.
Others weren't so... complimentary:
As a result of the reported plans to rewrite parts of the protocol, the head of the government’s legal department – Jonathan Jones – has quit.
He’s reportedly “very unhappy” over the potential plans.
The love for Theresa May was short-lived though, after she voted down Grenfell Inquiry recommendations on Monday evening.
An amendment to the Fire Safety Bill would have forced flat owners to disclose to local fire services the materials of external walls and allow them to make regular checks of lifts and flat entrance doors.
It would have also made it obligatory for landlords to share evacuation and fire safety instructions with residents.
But the amendment was defeated by 188 votes to 318.
