“TWENTY-ONE months of breathing space won’t secure the next vital vehicle model, it simply gives bosses time to relocate businesses.”

Those are not my words — they are the words of a Unite member in the auto manufacturing industry, who recognises that Theresa May’s Brexit deal puts jobs at risk.

And here’s another: “It’s a disaster for the UK tyre industry. With no guarantee of frictionless trade after the transition period, there could be delays in supply chains, while the lure of cheap imports dumped on the UK market will cause more damage.”
 
It’s because our members, in all sectors of the economy, see the result of the Prime Minister’s Brussels negotiations as the threat to their livelihoods that it is, that Unite has appealed to them, in the days running up to tomorrow’s parliamentary vote, to work for a better deal. We’ve asked them to call on MPs to hold their nerve and reject what the government has put on the table.
 
We know that some of our manufacturing companies are trying to persuade our conveners and shop stewards to support the deal.