01 Mar DUP will allow EU deal to go through, David Davis tells Jacob Rees-Mogg
EX-BREXIT Secretary David Davis has predicted that the Democratic Unionist Party will abstain and let the deal go through if there is a vote in Parliament.
He made the comments during State of the Nation with Jacob Rees-Mogg on GB News tonight.
Asked what he thought the DUP view of the deal might be, Mr Davis said: “Like all parties…there will be a spectrum within them.
“So I suspect they’ll end up abstaining rather than supporting but even so I think that that will be massively important within our own party, there’ll be a lot of our colleagues who will look to the DUP and say, ‘what are they going to do? If they vote against, then I can’t support the Government’.
“There’ll be quite a few in that position. I would be tempted that way, I’m not, but I could easily be tempted in that way because of my affinity for them.
“So I think in truth that they will enable it and what was interesting to me as well, just as an aside, Labour supported the deal, so did the SNP.
“That was quite extraordinary. If this is going to be a motion to come before the full House, it’s going to get about 95% support.”
In response to Mr Davis saying a veto on new legislation from the EU as “an astonishing success”, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “I agree with you, the veto is the most important aspect of it, isn’t it, that no new EU laws can come in if Stormont and HM Government say no.
“That is something I think both you and I thought the EU would be very unlikely to give…the veto on laws I think is fundamental.”
Mr Davis continued: “I would be surprised if this new deal doesn’t get 75% support in Northern Ireland, I really would, and that is astonishing.”
Asked if he thought Rishi Sunak had got Brexit done, He said: “Yes, I do. broadly…
“One, it’s a good deal of Northern Ireland, two, it’s basically the end of the Brexit story.
“There will be detail, lots and lots and lots of details in perpetuity, but basically the end of the Brexit story.
“Three, it will be his first very big success, and probably the biggest success, other than I guess the 2019 election, of any Prime Minister for some years.”
He said: “I think it’s a very good deal indeed. I mean, you may not remember Jacob but you are the first person I discussed resigning with when I was Brexit Secretary.
“And you may remember the reason I resigned was in essence because Theresa May had agreed full alignment between the north of Ireland and the south of Ireland and that drove a coach and horses through our ability to maintain our sovereignty, keep democracy in Northern Ireland.
“That’s troubled every leader since, every single leader and I didn’t really think we could solve it.”
