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Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May gives a statement outside 10 Downing Street in London on November 14, 2018, after holding a cabinet meeting where ministers were expected to either back the draft bexit deal or quit. - British Prime Minister Theresa May defended her anguished draft divorce deal with the European Union on Wednesday before rowdy lawmakers and a splintered cabinet that threatens to fall apart. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP)TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty ImagesTOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images

British Prime Minister Theresa May has won crucial cabinet support for a draft Brexit deal with the European Union, but opposition to the agreement is building and her leadership is coming under renewed attack.

Ms. May emerged from a five-hour cabinet meeting on Wednesday saying the proposed withdrawal agreement was “the best that could be negotiated” and that cabinet approval, although not unanimous, was a decisive step toward a final deal.

“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,” she said. “I know that there will be difficult days ahead. … But the choice was this deal, which enables us to take back control and build a brighter future for our country, or going back to square one, with more division, more uncertainty, and the failure to deliver on the [2016 Brexit] referendum.”

Shortly after she spoke, the government released the 585-page draft agreement. It shows that both sides would have until December, 2020, to negotiate a trade deal. During that time, Britain would essentially remain an EU member and continue to contribute to the bloc’s budget. If no trade deal was concluded by Dec. 31, Britain could either extend the transition period for a year or it could invoke a backstop that would see the entire country remain inside the EU’s customs union, which allows for the free movement of goods but not people or services.

The backstop includes a special protocol for Northern Ireland that would keep it more closely aligned to the EU’s single market than the rest of the United Kingdom, to ensure the Irish border remained virtually barrier-free. It’s not clear how long that backstop would last or how closely the rest of the United Kingdom would have to abide by EU regulations. And while the draft deal calls for a joint committee to be set up to handle disputes and administer the agreement, the European Court of Justice would still play a key oversight role, something that has infuriated hard-Brexit backers. The fate of Britain’s key financial-services sector is also unclear and has been largely left to future trade negotiations. However, Britain would lose privileges that give financial-services firms unfettered access to the EU. Instead, both sides would agree to some form of equivalence for financial regulation.

Related: On the Irish border, Brexit brews fears united communities will see new troubles

Ms. May’s biggest challenge now will be winning support for the deal in the House of Commons and across the country, with just four months to go before Britain leaves the EU on March 29. But she faces mounting opposition to the agreement and calls from inside her Conservative Party caucus to resign. “Dismayed, disgusted,” Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns said on Twitter after Ms. May spoke. “The only way to save Brexit is a new leader. The fight continues.”

While there were voices of support for Ms. May, the Prime Minister can ill afford to lose any Tory backing in the House of Commons, which must approve the final Brexit deal. Already, up to 40 pro-Brexit Tories have vowed to vote against the deal. The party doesn’t hold a majority of seats and Ms. May relies on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to stay in power. But the DUP also voiced its concern about the deal on Wednesday and several MPs indicated that they won’t support it.

DUP MPs said they can’t support a deal that treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the United Kingdom. “We could not, as unionists, support a deal that broke up the United Kingdom,” party Leader Arlene Foster said. The DUP draws most of its support from the Protestant community and the party fears that if Northern Ireland received special treatment from the EU and Ireland after Brexit, that could bolster the cause of reunification with the Catholic south.

The fate of the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland has been a major issue in Brexit talks for months The boundary has been invisible since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles. Britain, the EU and Ireland have said that they don’t want to see a return to border controls, but they’ve struggled to figure out how to accomplish that once Britain is out of the EU’s single market, which allows for the free movement of goods, people and services among member states.

It’s unclear what would happen if the deal didn’t win parliamentary approval. Ms. May has said that if the deal was rejected, Britain would leave the EU without an agreement. That has spooked many business leaders who fear Britain would face stiff tariff and non-tariff barriers by the EU, the country’s biggest trading partner. In a report on Britain released on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund said the country’s total economic output would fall by about 6 per cent if the country left without a deal. That figure would be cut in half if there was a deal, the IMF added. Many MPs have said the country should hold a second referendum on Brexit if the deal is voted down and the Labour Party said it will push for an election.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that if Northern Ireland is given more access to the EU, Scotland should as well. Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU during the 2016 Brexit referendum and Ms. Sturgeon has been an ardent critic of Brexit.

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the draft deal marked decisive progress in the Brexit talks but added that “there remains a lot of work to do.” He declined to comment on what would happen if the British Parliament voted down the deal.

European national leaders are expected to meet on Nov. 25 to sign off on the deal. In addition, the European Parliament, like its British counterpart, must ratify the withdrawal treaty.

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