Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Most Members will have much sympathy for the British Labour Party in trying to block or reverse Brexit. Notwithstanding what has been said here, however, the reality is that the British Labour Party's principal tactic so far has been to block the withdrawal agreement. It is a remarkable fact that each of the Tories campaigning to project their Brexit purity last night has voted for the withdrawal agreement in the House of Commons. Even Boris Johnson, who now says it is dead, voted for it, yet nobody in the leadership of the British Labour Party has done so at any point. Given the arithmetic in the House of Commons and the fact that the next Prime Minister will be less accommodating than Mrs. Theresa May, it may well be that the only possible route to ratification of the withdrawal agreement is the confirmatory public vote that most members of the British Labour Party support, but which the Tories are blocking.

Did the Taoiseach advocate to Mr. Corbyn that in the choice between the withdrawal agreement and a no-deal Brexit, ratifying the agreement is by far the best outcome for these islands? Did he ask if the British Labour Party would join with us in opposing the imposition of direct rule in Northern Ireland, which appears to be the intended route to be taken by the Tories if there is no deal? In this context, did the Taoiseach seek Mr. Corbyn's support in pushing the parties blocking the restoration of the Northern institutions to show more urgency and to recognise the damage the continued suspension is causing?

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