Brexit: What to expect in the next two weeks
The PM is beginning a fortnight-long effort to convince the public and MPs to back her agreement with the EU.
Tuesday 27 November 2018 09:51, UK
By Greg Heffer, political reporter
Theresa May will visit Wales and Northern Ireland on Tuesday as she begins a fortnight-long effort to sell her Brexit deal.
The prime minister is also expected to visit Scotland within the next two weeks as she tries to convince the UK public and, most importantly, MPs to back her agreement with Brussels.
In what could soon come to represent a mini-election campaign, Mrs May has challenged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to a TV debate on the terms of her deal.
Cabinet ministers are also expected to stage a series of appearances as part of the effort to sell the Brexit agreement.
Ahead of her critical two weeks and her trip to Wales and Northern Ireland, the prime minister said: "Having been told by the EU that we would need to split the UK in two, we are leaving as one United Kingdom.
"My deal delivers for every corner of the UK and I will work hard to strengthen the bonds that unite us as we look ahead to our future outside of the EU."
The prime minister will tour the Royal Welsh Winter Fair to speak to farmers as she hopes to highlight how products such as Welsh lamb and Caerphilly cheese are protected under the terms of the UK's withdrawal agreement.
She will then meet Welsh political leaders before travelling to Northern Ireland for an event with students, academics and community and religious leaders at Queen's University Belfast.
Mrs May will then meet with all five political parties in Belfast, where she will urge them to listen to groups such as Manufacturing NI and the Ulster Farmers' Union - who are supportive of the agreement - and back her deal.
Mrs May will face Mr Corbyn from across the despatch box in the House of Commons, but she might be paying keener attention to the questions coming from her own Tory benches.
Any signs of lessening or hardening hostility to her Brexit deal from Conservative MPs will either encourage or dishearten the prime minister as she judges the chances of her deal passing.
The prime minister will face the influential House of Commons liaison committee, which is made up of the chairs of each Commons select committee.
Those senior MPs who are members of the committee - and are set to grill Mrs May on her Brexit deal - include chair Sarah Wollaston, a pro-Remain Conservative who wants a second EU referendum.
Prominent Tory Brexiteers Sir Bill Cash, Sir Bernard Jenkin and Julian Lewis - who are all opposed to Mrs May's deal - are also committee members, along with Leave-backing former Labour MP Frank Field.
Both the prime minister and Chancellor Philip Hammond will travel to Argentina's capital Buenos Aires for a G20 summit.
US President Donald Trump may have already trashed Mrs May's Brexit deal, but the prime minister might be hoping she can win some more supportive comments from other world leaders while at the gathering.
An early plan for selling a Brexit agreement, which was leaked before a deal was reached with Brussels, suggested Downing Street was hoping for the endorsement of leaders such as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
MPs will begin five days of debate on the prime minister's Brexit deal, with every MP expected to make a contribution to the historic Commons event.
According to reports, Downing Street has earmarked the weekend before the crunch House of Commons vote on the Brexit deal as the date for a TV debate between the prime minister and Mr Corbyn.
D-Day for the prime minister as MPs stage their "meaningful vote" on the UK's withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on the UK's future relationship with the EU.
There are expected to be attempts by some MPs to add amendments to the motion being considered by the Commons
These could include provisions for a second EU referendum, keeping the UK in a customs union, or even extending the Article 50 period.
If the prime minister loses the Commons vote on her Brexit deal, there are suggestions she could face an immediate confidence vote.
Mrs May has also refused to state whether or not she would resign in such a scenario, instead saying her focus is solely on winning the vote.
If the prime minister does win the Commons vote, she could make a triumphant journey to Brussels for a gathering of EU leaders, where she will be able to deliver the approval of her Brexit deal.
By contrast, if she has lost the Commons vote, Mrs May could be forced to try and convince EU leaders into reopening negotiations on the terms of the Brexit agreement.