the cabinet has just had a long detailed
and impassioned debate on the draft
withdrawal agreement and the outline
political declaration on our future
relationship with the European Union
these documents were the result of
thousands of hours of hard negotiation
by UK officials and many many meetings
which I and other ministers held with
our EU counterparts I firmly believe
that the draft withdrawal agreement was
the best that could be negotiated and it
was for the cabinet to decide whether to
move on in the talks the choices before
us were difficult particularly in
relation to the Northern Ireland
backstop but the collective decision of
cabinet was that the government should
agree the draft withdrawal agreement and
the outline political declaration this
is a decisive step which enables us to
move on and finalize the deal in the
days ahead
 these decisions were not taken lightly but I believe
it is a decision that is firmly in the national
interest when you strip away the detail
the choice before us is clear this deal
which delivers on the vote of the
referendum which brings back control of
our money, laws, and borders, ends free
movement, protects jobs security and our
union or leave with No Deal only or no
brexit at all, I know that there will be
difficult days ahead this is a decision
which will come under intense scrutiny
and that is entirely as it should be and
entirely understandable but the choice
was this deal which enables us to take
back control and to build a brighter
future for our country or going back to
square one with more division more
uncertainty and a failure to deliver on
the referendum it's my job as Prime
Minister to explain the decisions that
the government has taken and I stand
ready to do that beginning tomorrow with
a statement in Parliament but if I may
end by just saying this I believe that
what I owe to this country is to take
decisions that are in the
National interest and I firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is a
decision which is in the best interests
of our entire united kingdom
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