EU rules out renegotiation of Brexit withdrawal agreement

Theresa May has told a meeting of Conservative backbenchers that they should instruct the government to renegotiate the Northern Ireland backstop when they vote on amendments to her Brexit deal again tomorrow.

She is hoping that if she can show Brussels that the Commons would back her deal without the backstop, they might think again. But in Brussels this afternoon the EU’s Brexit negotiator said that there were no alternatives to the backstop, and that EU leaders would not reopen the withdrawal agreement. And it’s not clear that ardent Brexiteers in her own party are prepared to follow her plan either.