“I have always maintained that a second referendum would be dangerously divisive, and I do not support the government willingly facilitating such a concession. The air in the committee room corridor at Westminster was thick with anticipation two hours earlier when chief whip Julian Smith arrived to meet the executive of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers. “In time, another prime minister will be standing at this dispatch box, but while I am here, I have a duty to be clear with the House about the facts. That includes votes on customs arrangements and on a second referendum. “No Labour MP can vote for a deal on the promise of a prime minister who only has days left in her job,” he said.

Source: The Irish Times May 22, 2019 20:15 UTC