The prime minister’s last-minute dash to Strasbourg and the “legally binding changes” that she secured for an improved Brexit deal lead the front pages today.
Several papers are asking whether the 11th-hour manoeuvring will be enough to win over her anti-Europe MPs and convince them to vote for her deal today.
MAIL: Sealed with a kiss? #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/i2OHQtdmJS
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 11, 2019
The Daily Mail, which features a picture of Michel Barnier bowing over May’s hand, asks whether the deal has been “Sealed with a kiss?”.
The paper, ever the champion of Theresa May, is tentatively hopeful about the amendments, saying: “May on the brink of Brexit deal breakthrough – but will it be enough for crunch vote tonight?”
The Guardian poses a similar question: “May secures ‘improved’ deal - but will it be enough?” The paper reports that despite May’s claims that she has secured the legally binding changes parliament wanted, things are not as secure as she would have people think.
The Guardian front page, Tuesday 12 March 2019: May secures ‘improved’ deal - but will it be enough? pic.twitter.com/m5Y6UkiF7g
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 11, 2019
“Within minutes of the start of a late-night joint press conference in Strasbourg, those words rang hollow, as Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, conceded the EU had not agreed to the prime minister’s central demand,” reports the paper.
“Juncker told reporters that a freshly negotiated legal add-on to the Brexit deal, emphasising the temporary nature of the Irish backstop, ‘complements the withdrawal agreement without reopening it’.”
Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Tuesday 12 March https://t.co/mpwzOdYbpt pic.twitter.com/Fb0IMXTuvz
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 11, 2019
The FT highlights the last-minute nature of the deal and the difficult situation the prime minister was in, saying: “After days of bruising talks and the near collapse of negotiations on Sunday, Mrs May made a dramatic final effort to win over some of the 100 Conservative Eurosceptic MPs who have threatened to derail her deal and her premiership.”
The paper also features an opinion column inside the paper, previewed on the front: “The Conservative party has been captured by demagogues, economic illiterates, provincial nationalists and wild-eyed free marketeers.”
TELEGRAPH REDESIGN: May keeps deal afloat after last minute Strasbourg dash #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/SRkhl9xp0Q
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 12, 2019
There is positivity on the front of some papers, including the Telegraph, which reports: “May keeps deal afloat after last-minute Strasbourg dash”.
The Telegraph reports that “Brexiteers said they were “keeping an open mind” about the deal and would decide later on Tuesday whether to support it, quoting Steve Baker, deputy leader of the European Research Group of Tory Brexiteers, who said they would make their decision based on the details of the deal: “We are waiting with bated breath, we want to see it in black and white and we want to do our public duty.”
The Times is similarly upbeat, saying: “May claims victory in Brexit backstop talks”. The paper reports: “Theresa May urged MPs last right to unite and back an ‘improved Brexit deal’ after securing changes that she said ensured Britain could not be trapped in the Irish backstop”.
Tomorrow's @Daily_Express front page:
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) March 11, 2019
- Theresa May wins ‘legally binding’ changes on backstop to clinch Commons vote today - now let's unite Britain #Brexit
- #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/1ZKeU5I66o
The Express echoes May’s order to MPs: “Now get behind this deal and let’s unite Britain”. The paper says “May will today issue a rallying cry to MPs to back her deal and reunite the UK after winning key concessions from the EU last night” and seems hopeful of the PM’s chances in securing the deal, saying the changes to the backstop secured in her negotiations were “to clinch Commons vote today”.
Tomorrow's front page: Theresa May breathes new life into her Brexit deal with a dramatic backstop breakthrough https://t.co/AKbQG6xyTv pic.twitter.com/QZtzlFB9Uf
— The Sun (@TheSun) March 11, 2019
The Sun, never missing a chance for a pun, says May’s deal is “Backstop from dead”. The paper says: “Theresa May breathed new life into her Brexit deal last night with a dramatic backstop breakthrough.”
The i: “May’s last throw of the dice”. It summarises the key developments, including highlighting the deadline of December 2020 to negotiate alternative arrangements.
Scotsman front page for March 12. May wins backstop changes in last-minute Brexit dash. pic.twitter.com/k1kCFCIIzl
— Kate Lyons (@MsKateLyons) March 12, 2019
The Scotsman says “May wins backstop changes in last-minute Brexit dash” and that the last-minute compromise was done “in the hope of avoiding another humiliating defeat when it comes before the Commons this evening”.
And the Metro, which does not often feature in these paper wraps, deserves a special mention for its double punning, first in the headline: “The May of reckoning” and then again in the caption of their picture of the prime minister: “Come what May”.
METRO: May of Reckoning #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/l9eML6fkGj
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 11, 2019
Elsewhere in Europe, Le Monde reports: “Brexit: London claims to have guarantees on the eve of a crucial vote”.
Spiegel Online is more cynical, reporting Juncker’s comments that “There will be no third chance”, saying: “Is that enough? London and Brussels have agreed on additions to the Brexit Agreement. But at the core it remains untouched - and thus it is questionable whether the deal in the British Parliament will get a majority.”
El Pais reports that May has received “new legal guarantees from the EU to try to save Brexit”.
