Labour admits it will 'probably' vote for Theresa May's final Brexit deal

• Labour is set to back Theresa May's Brexit deal according to the party's Shadow Foreign Secretary.
• Emily Thornberry says the deal will probably pass the party's "six tests".
• Her comments confirm Business Insider's story from Monday.
• BI revealed private comments by Labour's International Trade Secretary in which he suggested Labour would not risk voting down May's deal.

LONDON - The Labour party is set to back Theresa May's final Brexit deal rather than risk crashing out of the EU without a deal, the party's Shadow Foreign Secretary has admitted.

Emily Thornberry told a Chatham House event on Wednesday that May's deal would probably pass the "six tests" the party has set for supporting a deal.

"If past evidence, of the last few months is anything to go on, it's going to be a 'blah, blah, blah divorce, it's not going to actually make any decisions, it's going to continue to kick things down the road, Thornberry said.

"The difficulty with a meaningful vote in October - which we have secured - is what is it that we are going to be agreeing on?"

She added: "We have our six tests. If you hold up 'blah, blah, blah' to the six tests, it will probably pass it."

Thornberry's comments confirm Business Insider's story on Monday, in which we revealed comments made by the Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner, in which he suggested that the party would back May's deal regardless of what it contained.

"Let's look at the consequence of there being no deal. The UK will crash out of the EU," Barry Gardiner said at an invite-only event in Brussels

He added: "It's exactly what the far right have been pushing for. The European Parliament should consider very carefully before voting against any agreement, even if it's not the agreement you want."

Labour declined to comment on BI's story prior to publication. However, it was later labeled "mendacious" by Gardiner, who used his Twitter account to accuse BI of taking his comments out of context.

However, Thornberry's comments confirm that Labour are now highly likely to back May's Brexit deal in October, rather than risk crashing out of the EU without a deal.

This now means that it is highly likely that May's deal should pass easily in the autumn even if she suffers a significant rebellion from her own backbenches.

Last year Labour set "six tests" for supporting any Brexit deal. These were:

1. Does it ensure a strong and collaborative future relationship with the EU?
2. Does it deliver the "exact same benefits" as we currently have as members of the Single Market and Customs Union?
3. Does it ensure the fair management of migration in the interests of the economy and communities?
4. Does it defend rights and protections and prevent a race to the bottom?
5. Does it protect national security and our capacity to tackle cross-border crime?
6. Does it deliver for all regions and nations of the UK?

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