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UK PM May plans watered-down Brexit vote to secure departure delay

By William James and Alistair Smout

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is seen in a car outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May scrambled on Thursday for a way to secure a new delay to Brexit in the face of parliamentary deadlock by setting out plans for a watered-down vote on her EU divorce deal to be held on Friday.

 

Lawmakers will vote on May's withdrawal agreement at a special sitting but not on the framework for future relations with the EU she negotiated at the same time, a manoeuvre which sparked confusion among lawmakers.

 

Britain agreed with the EU last week to delay Brexit from the originally planned March 29 until April 12, with a further delay until May 22 on offer if May could get her divorce package ratified by lawmakers this week after two failed attempts.

 

"The European Union will only agree an extension until May 22 if the withdrawal agreement is approved this week," House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom told lawmakers. "Tomorrow's motion gives parliament the opportunity to secure that extension."

 

May's Brexit package, comprising the legally binding withdrawal agreement and a more general political declaration on the future relationship with the EU, has been overwhelmingly rejected by lawmakers on two previous occasions.

 

It remains uncertain how, when or even whether the United Kingdom, the world's fifth-biggest economy, will leave the EU. The risks that it could crash out as early as April 12 without a transition deal to soften the shock to its economy, or be forced into a long delay to the departure date to hold a general election, have increased as other options have faded.

 

May's struggles to pass her deal have thrown the process into chaos, resulting in Brexitbeing put off and even a pledge from the premier to quit if that is what it takes to win over eurosceptic opponents in her Conservative party to the plan.

 

Although it cannot clinch approval of May's deal in legal terms, Friday's vote now dares Conservative eurosceptics to vote against the government on the very day that Britain was due to leave the bloc, a goal they have cherished for decades.

 

Parliament's speaker said he would allow the vote to go ahead as it would be on the withdrawal deal only and so did not break rules against bringing the same package back more than once in the same session of parliament.

 

CONFUSION AT MAY'S NEW GAMBIT

But angry and confused lawmakers from the opposition Labour Party demanded to know whether the government's motion was legal. Lawmaker Stephen Doughty said: "This just looks to me like trickery of the highest order."

 

On Wednesday, May offered to resign if her Brexit package was passed, securing support from some high-profile critics in her party. But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government, said it still opposed the deal, denying her votes she desperately needs to pass it.

 

"Things change by the hour here but I’m not expecting any last minute rabbits out of the hat," DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds told the BBC on Thursday.

 

May's deal means Britain would leave the EU single market and customs union as well as EU political bodies. But it requires some EU rules to apply unless ways can be found in the future to ensure no border posts need to be rebuilt between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

 

Many Conservative rebels and the DUP object to this "Irish backstop", saying it risks binding Britain to the EU for years.

 

A bid on Wednesday by lawmakers to seize control of the Brexit process in the face of government disarray with a series of "indicative votes" on alternatives to May's deal yielded no majority for any of them.

 

However the option calling for a referendum on any departure deal, and another suggesting a UK-wide customs union with the EU, won more votes than May's deal did two weeks ago. Lawmakers will have another go at the more popular options on Monday.

 

Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said that May's vow to resign if her deal was passed meant Britain was headed to a "blindfold Brexit", which would be exacerbated by a vote which did not encompass the political declaration on future relations.

 

"We would be leaving the EU, but with absolutely no idea where we are heading," Starmer said. "That cannot be acceptable and Labour will not vote for it."

 

With May floundering in her effort to get her Brexit package approved, EU officials and diplomats said on Friday Britain was more likely than ever to tumble chaotically out of the EU.

 

They said the bloc would push ahead with contingency preparations next week and was gearing up for an emergency Brexit summit the week after, probably on April 10.

 

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, William James Kylie MacLellan and Michael Holden; Writing by Alistair Smout; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-29

[DoctorG]

What is the point of a delay if there is no real plan to end the impasse? 

[soalbundy]

17 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

What is the point of a delay if there is no real plan to end the impasse? 

you have to kick the can somewhere

[Loiner]

They never had a plan for us to Leave. From before the totally unexpected referendum result, through all the subsequent Remainer plotting up to now. The May/Merkel surrender document was only ever a deception, to tell the masses a Startrekest “It’s Brexit Jim, but not as you know it.”

Well all the establishment elites plots have failed, even with the collusion of cross party Remain MPs. There’s still no plan and no progress. The default is Leave - No Deal required.


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[JonnyF]

The meal she served up is rancid, it was sent back to the kitchen.

 

So she wiped half of it off the plate and took it back to the table. 

[malagateddy]

Think it's best to call her Evita from now on ??[emoji6]

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[rocketman777]

What none of these waste of space British MP's ever bring up regarding Mays deal  is the $39 billion (pounds) to be paid to these fat cat Eurocrats.

 

Tusk has just reiterated that this payment is a precursor of any agreement.

 

Its all about the 'Benjamin's baby"

 

By just leaving the EU with WTO rules , we can stick this  39 billion in the bank, that could be used for offsetting and initial negative effects of Brexit (if indeed there are any)

 

Stick 5 or 10 billion into the NHS to end the slow erosion its into privatization.

 

Generally stimulated the economy especially in the North of England where over a million families are living in poverty.

Rejuvenate  British Industry with interest free loans to  SME's  and entrepreneurs.

 

And finally end austerity .

That scatterbrain naive idea that a Sovereign nations economy behaves like a credit card account

(David ,waste of space, Cameron)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by rocketman777

[transam]

1939-45 cost the UK dear to protect and defeat Europeans....The EU has a cheek asking for cash for us to get out of the EU mess when none of them have paid back a penny for the crap they caused...

[dunroaming]

7 hours ago, Loiner said:

They never had a plan for us to Leave. From before the totally unexpected referendum result, through all the subsequent Remainer plotting up to now. The May/Merkel surrender document was only ever a deception, to tell the masses a Startrekest “It’s Brexit Jim, but not as you know it.”

Well all the establishment elites plots have failed, even with the collusion of cross party Remain MPs. There’s still no plan and no progress. The default is Leave - No Deal required.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Dream on.

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, transam said:

1939-45 cost the UK dear to protect and defeat Europeans....The EU has a cheek asking for cash for us to get out of the EU mess when none of them have paid back a penny for the crap they caused...

 

Ah, but that was because the good old Americans thought it better not to piss the Germans and Japanese off by making them pay war reparations as they wanted them as front line allies against the pinko commie threat.

 

And as America was still receiving payment from the UK for WW1 loans, and now could expect payment for WW11 loans on top; and had much much less time in each war themselves, with zero homeland destruction, they could afford to be generous to the losers.

 

To the victor the spoils!!

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, rocketman777 said:

What none of these waste of space British MP's ever bring up regarding Mays deal  is the $39 billion (pounds) to be paid to these fat cat Eurocrats.

 

Tusk has just reiterated that this payment is a precursor of any agreement.

 

Its all about the 'Benjamin's baby"

 

By just leaving the EU with WTO rules , we can stick this  39 billion in the bank, that could be used for offsetting and initial negative effects of Brexit (if indeed there are any)

 

Stick 5 or 10 billion into the NHS to end the slow erosion its into privatization.

 

Generally stimulated the economy especially in the North of England where over a million families are living in poverty.

Rejuvenate  British Industry with interest free loans to  SME's  and entrepreneurs.

 

And finally end austerity .

That scatterbrain naive idea that a Sovereign nations economy behaves like a credit card account

(David ,waste of space, Cameron)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Economics made easy!

[geoffbezoz]

3 hours ago, transam said:

1939-45 cost the UK dear to protect and defeat Europeans....The EU has a cheek asking for cash for us to get out of the EU mess when none of them have paid back a penny for the crap they caused...

Well in that case let's go back a bit further and ask the Italians to pay the UK money as compensation for the Roman Empire pulling out of England without an agreed transitional government put in place.

[Basil B]

Half the meaningful vote that is meaningless without the other half...????

[Basil B]

Corbyn has just made a commitment.

Quote

Mr Corbyn adds if MPs cannot agree on giving the public the chance for a "final say" on Monday: "Then I ultimately - and many others would agree with me, see no alternative other than having a general election to decide who rules this country in the future."

 

[Basil B]

Speaker has just called "Clear the Lobbies" as MP's file out to vote...

 

Watch this space.

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Basil B

[Basil B]

It is over May defeated...

Aye's  286

Noe's  344

Edited March 29, 2019 by Basil B

[dunroaming]

Comprehensively defeated although the margins were less than previously.  Now Monday should be a very interesting day.  

[Johnyo]

Not even the sellout Brexitmaniacs could make it happen.


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[Bluespunk]

MPs reject May's EU withdrawal agreement https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47752017

 

rejected...again

[dunroaming]

32 minutes ago, Benroon said:

and the pound just dipped a full 1% ????

The pound will bounce back when we get some positive news but for the time being it's depressing to say the least.

[welovesundaysatspace]

Just shows Brexit is a stupid idea. 

[Basil B]

3 hours ago, dunroaming said:

Comprehensively defeated although the margins were less than previously.  Now Monday should be a very interesting day.  

58 well that's a damned good kick in the teeth again.

34 of her MP's voted against her.

 

 

2 hours ago, dunroaming said:

The pound will bounce back when we get some positive news but for the time being it's depressing to say the least.

If she would resign it would help the pound.

 

4 months wasted flogging a dead horse...  

 

 

She took it to the eleventh hour ...our would have if she could have delayed the vote until ten tonight, it did not work, Corbyn has said he will call a no confidence vote if a referendum is not on the table, wish he had been more forthright by stipulating by when?

 

Because it needs to thrashed out with details what we will be voting on and agreement with the EU as being acceptable by the end of next week, I think they will have a number of demands including a long extension, UK participation in EU elections, and May's head on a silver platter.

 

In many countries the military would have taken control by now... 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Basil B

[transam]

7 hours ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Just shows Brexit is a stupid idea. 

For the "toff's" running the country it is...????

[Chomper Higgot]

On 3/29/2019 at 8:08 AM, Loiner said:

They never had a plan for us to Leave. From before the totally unexpected referendum result, through all the subsequent Remainer plotting up to now. The May/Merkel surrender document was only ever a deception, to tell the masses a Startrekest “It’s Brexit Jim, but not as you know it.”

Well all the establishment elites plots have failed, even with the collusion of cross party Remain MPs. There’s still no plan and no progress. The default is Leave - No Deal required.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

You are correct they ‘the people who

 sold you Brexit’ never had a plan.

 

You bought into a planless Brexit and now you tell us it’s anybody else’s fault so long as it’s not yours.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, transam said:

For the "toff's" running the country it is...????

What, you mean the tax shy billionaires, multimillionaires and hedgefund managers who funded Brexit or are you referring to the Old Etonians in the ERG?

[Leung Falang]

How could there not be a custom border between the two Irelands? or N. Ireland and the rest of the UK?