Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, has said that the Prime Minister is treating Parliament and the country with contempt after pulling the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement after it became clear that it would not pass the House of Commons with a majority.

Theresa May has said that she will now go back to Brussels to further negotiate with the European Union (EU) and get guarantees on the backstop, which has proved to be the main sticking point for Members of Parliament in her own party and the DUP. This announcement contradicts Theresa May’s previous statement in the House last week that the current Withdrawal Agreement cannot be negotiated because the EU would not accept any additional changes.

Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, says: “The Prime Minister is running scared from her own party, which is why she’s pulled the vote on her deal – and treating Parliament and the country with contempt. The fact that she’s not prepared to allow MPs to vote on her deal proves that even she knows it’s not good enough. It’s time to admit that this is not what was promised in the EU Referendum two and a half years ago. She should go back to the people, and allow the public a say through an election or referendum.”

Mr Zeichner told the Prime Minister (Monday 10 December) that the inability to command the support from the Commons was not only down to the issue of the Backstop and rejected that the she had been listening to the comments from MPs in the House.  Mr Zeichner went onto ask whether it was time to start being straight with the British public, highlighting that the political declaration is a set of aspirations that both the UK and EU want to achieve, and not a final deal on the future relationship, and that negotiations would drag on for many years.