Noose tightens around May
EU rules out renegotiation as May tours Europe in desperate bid to save Brexit deal
♦ New Brexit vote in parliament by Jan 21
♦ Conservative rebels say May must go
Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May embarked on a tour of European capitals yesterday in a desperate bid to salvage her Brexit deal, a day after delaying a parliamentary vote on the text to avoid a crushing defeat.
May had breakfast with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague before heading to Berlin for lunch with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and was then to travel on to Brussels.
She is seeking "reassurances" over provisions in the EU withdrawal agreement concerning Northern Ireland, which she hopes could persuade her rebellious Conservative party to support it.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said ahead of meeting May that he was "surprised" at being asked for more talks.
"The deal we have achieved is the best deal possible, it's the only deal possible. There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation but of course there is room, if used intelligently, to give further clarification and further interpretations."
MPs in the House of Commons were due to vote on the deal on Tuesday night, but May deferred it on Monday, admitting she expected to lose by a "significant margin".
Her spokesman yesterday said the vote would be rescheduled before January 21 -- just months before Britain leaves the EU on March 29.
EU President Donald Tusk, who was also to meet May in Brussels, has called a meeting of the other 27 EU leaders on Thursday to discuss the latest Brexit developments.
They and May were already due to attend a European Council summit on Thursday and Friday, which the British prime minister is expected to use to further press her case.
May faces strong opposition from her own Conservative MPs and parliamentary allies over a clause in the Brexit deal designed to keep open the border with Ireland.
The so-called backstop risks tying Britain into a customs union with the EU for years after it leaves the bloc -- far from the clean break that eurosceptics want.
"I have heard those concerns and I will now do everything I possibly can to secure further assurances," May told mutinous MPs on Monday, after pulling the vote.
But it is far from clear what she can achieve.
Even if no deal is secured, Britain is still on course to leave the EU on March 29 -- a scenario the government has warned will be hugely damaging to the economy.
May's decision also drew outrage from MPs, who demanded the right to vote on the Brexit deal.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing calls to table a no-confidence vote in the prime minister, but is holding off for now as the party believes May is likely to win.
Eurosceptic MPs in May's Conservative party also repeated calls for her to be replaced, with one warning it was time to "govern or quit".