'We must avoid a catastrophic no deal' First Minister Mark Drakeford responds to Brexit vote

Wales
Politics
Brexit
Cardiff
Tuesday 15 January 2019, 8:00pm

Credit: PA

The First Minister, Mark Drakeford says it "hardly surprising" that the Prime Minister Theresa May's deal has been rejected in Parliament.

The meaningful vote was lost by 432 votes to 202 - a majority of 230.

It is the biggest defeat of a government on record.

Following the result, Labour are calling for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister’s deal always fell well short of what is needed to protect our economy and jobs, surrendering political influence without any guarantee that our long term economic interests will be protected. We’ve known the likely outcome of this vote for weeks, yet she has continued to box herself into a corner with a set of red lines which were clearly undeliverable. We have always rejected this deal and called on the UK Government to go back to Brussels and secure a deal that is least damaging to the interests of Wales and the wider UK. We must now avoid careering headlong into a catastrophic no deal. It’s time for the UK Government to change direction and seek an extension to Article 50 – we cannot afford to gamble with the future of this country with self-imposed deadlines.