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Brexit: Theresa May's deal is voted down in historic Commons defeat

Technics 1210 said:
Are the quotes you cite post referendum or pre referendum? If post, then blame remainers for trying to stall Brexit. Once again, the question was, what sort of leave deal did leavers vote for? They didn't vote for a deal; they voted to Leave.

The audacity to judge leave voters.

It was Cameron who clearly stated many times before the referendum, that leaving the EU meant No Customs Union, no Single Market etc.
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Those quotes are before the referendum.

To be fair to prominent Leavers like Daniel Hannan and Peter Hitchens - they still support the EEA option which's the most common sense, least economically disruptive compromise that's most likely to win a majority in Parliament that respects the referendum result.

Norway in 1994 voted 52/48 to stay out of the EU and instead are a party to the EEA. I'm hoping indicative votes will get us closer to this outcome and end all this aggravation.
 
MPs are preparing to vote for their preferred Brexit option, with the PM due to meet Tory backbenchers in an effort to win them over to her deal.

Some have suggested Theresa May must name the date she will step down to have any hope of winning MPs' approval for her deal at the third attempt.

But leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has hinted he may soon back the plan.

Having voted to seize control of Commons business, backbench MPs will vote on Brexit alternatives later.

The Speaker will select around half a dozen options, likely to range from cancelling Brexit to leaving the EU without a deal, with MPs marking on paper each option with a "yes" or "no".

The process is likely to continue into next week. However, it is unclear whether MPs will be free to vote as they wish or will take orders from party leaders.

Former Health Minister Steve Brine, who resigned on Monday to back the move to force indicative votes, told BBC Newsnight more than a dozen others might quit government roles if they are denied a free vote.

"MPs should be free to vote as they see fit," he said. "This is bigger than all of us, bigger than the parties; it's country first."

Meanwhile, the Scottish Parliament is expected to formally back calls for Brexit to be cancelled in a vote later.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47715933
 
MPs are preparing to vote for their preferred Brexit option, with the PM due to meet Tory backbenchers in an effort to win them over to her deal.

Some have suggested Theresa May must name the date she will step down to have any hope of winning MPs' approval for her deal at the third attempt.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said some leading Brexiteers were "tiptoeing their way" towards supporting her plan.

Jacob Rees-Mogg has said of the deal: "Half a loaf is better than no bread."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he did not "begin to pretend this is a good deal or a good choice", but he would support the PM's plan if it had the backing of the Democratic Unionist Party.

The 10 Northern Irish MPs are seen as the key to securing the deal, but they have urged Tory MPs to "stand firm" in their opposition unless there were "significant changes".

Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said the government was still in talks to persuade the DUP to back it, along with other MPs on their own benches.

Meanwhile, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk told MEPs they "cannot betray the six million people who signed the petition to revoke Article 50, the one million people who marched for a people's vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the EU".

How the indicative vote process will work
Having voted to seize control of Commons business, backbench MPs will vote on Brexit alternatives later.

The Speaker will select around half a dozen options, likely to range from cancelling Brexit to leaving the EU without a deal, with MPs marking on paper each option with a "yes" or "no".

The process is likely to continue into next week. However, it is unclear whether MPs will be free to vote as they wish or will take orders from party leaders.

Former health minister Steve Brine, who resigned on Monday to back the move to force indicative votes, told BBC Newsnight more than a dozen others might quit government roles if they are denied a free vote.

"MPs should be free to vote as they see fit," he said. "This is bigger than all of us, bigger than the parties; it's country first."

Asked about a free vote, Ms Leadsom said it was a decision for Mrs May and the chief whip.

Labour's shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner told Today he expected there to be a free vote for his party's MPs later, but that they would be expected to rule out supporting a no-deal Brexit and revoking Article 50 in line with their manifesto.

"We have committed ourselves to trying to deliver the referendum result," he said. "The Labour party is not a remain party now."

Meanwhile, the Scottish Parliament is expected to formally back calls for Brexit to be cancelled in a vote later.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47715933
 
Took a fair bit longer than I anticipated but, as I said, when the choice came down to either the DUP or a botched Brexit the ERG take the latter all day any day

You know if they werent such prehistoric,bigoted neanderthals I'd almost feel sorry for the DUP. Profess loyalty to a nation and a people who could not give one single iota of a damn about them.

Will JRM and Boris' defection (along with some of their followers youd think) be enough to get May's deal over the line? [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] [MENTION=1842]James[/MENTION] Or is she still lacking the numbers?
 
Donal Cozzie said:
Took a fair bit longer than I anticipated but, as I said, when the choice came down to either the DUP or a botched Brexit the ERG take the latter all day any day

You know if they werent such prehistoric,bigoted neanderthals I'd almost feel sorry for the DUP. Profess loyalty to a nation and a people who could not give one single iota of a damn about them.

Will JRM and Boris' defection (along with some of their followers youd think) be enough to get May's deal over the line? [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] [MENTION=1842]James[/MENTION] Or is she still lacking the numbers?
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Without the DUP and still some ERG holdouts I don't see how May has the numbers.
 
ERG members willing to back May's deal is a little too late.

DUP need a slap. Not only was the hard border a scam, but £2 Billion went up in smoke. Anyway, 10 DUP votes doesn't make much of a difference given May's deal lost by 149 votes the second time round.

MV3 is dead.

Frankly speaking the IRA need a good whooping, it is because of the IRA the hard border and GFA is an issue. Lets not forget, Derry, Northern Ireland bombing in Jan 2019 - a sure sign the IRA are ramping up attacks in the event of a hard border.

The issue is not the hard border per se, it is the IRA. Let's negotiate with the terrorists!
 
Markhor said:
Without the DUP and still some ERG holdouts I don't see how May has the numbers.
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Just thinking now that, even if the deal passed somehow, the DUP would almost certainly pull the government down meaning this is all irrelevant anyway. Good gracious what a mess.

Technics 1210 said:
ERG members willing to back May's deal is a little too late.

DUP need a slap. Not only was the hard border a scam, but £2 Billion went up in smoke. Anyway, 10 DUP votes doesn't make much of a difference given May's deal lost by 149 votes the second time round.

MV3 is dead.

Frankly speaking the IRA need a good whooping, it is because of the IRA the hard border and GFA is an issue. Lets not forget, Derry, Northern Ireland bombing in Jan 2019 - a sure sign the IRA are ramping up attacks in the event of a hard border.

The issue is not the hard border per se, it is the IRA. Let's negotiate with the terrorists!
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If you're gonna troll, at least try to be subtle about it.
 
Donal Cozzie said:
If you're gonna troll, at least try to be subtle about it.
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Addressing the elephant in the room is not trolling.

The reality is the GFA is based on one premise, the ceasefire of IRA attacks. You know this, I know this, and every man and his dog knows this.

I will not be subtle about it. The IRA have been a threat since day dawn, and the only reason the GFA is under scrutiny is not because civilians will not up rise to a hard border, but because the return of a hard border will ensure the return of of the IRA, as proven by the Derry attack.

You can deny this all you want, but this is the reality.
 
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British MPs reject alternative Brexit options as Theresa May offers resignation in exchange for supp

The UK Parliament has failed to endorse an alternative plan on Brexit after Prime Minister Theresa May offered to stand down from the top job if her deal was delivered.

Eight separate alternatives on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union were rejected by MPs in the House of Commons.

Politicians voted on options that included leaving the European Union without a deal, staying in the bloc's customs union and single market, putting any EU divorce deal to a public referendum, and cancelling Brexit if the prospect of a no-deal departure got close.

Any of the options that gained the support of more than half of MPs would have been debated next Monday as an alternative to Mrs May's deal, which has been rejected twice.

MPs plan to narrow the list of options down and hold more votes on Monday — Britain has until April 12 to find a new plan, or crash out of the EU without a deal.

But Mrs May's offer to resign to push through her deal may not be enough, with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) — crucial to getting the vote through — issuing a statement saying it would reject it again.

She earlier told a meeting of Conservative MPs she would quit "before the second phase of negotiations", but put no timeline on a departure date.

"I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party," she said.

"I ask everyone in this room to back the deal so we can complete our historic duty — to deliver on the decision of the British people and leave the European Union with a smooth and orderly exit."

Mrs May said she "had heard very clearly the mood of the parliamentary party" and she knew there was "a desire for a new approach and new leadership … and I won't stand in the way of that".

Meanwhile, she has been trying to woo conservative backbenchers in a bid to garner more support for her withdrawal agreement.

Speaker John Bercow poured cold water on her attempts to get it before Parliament by the end of the week, saying it would need to be significantly different from the previous deal.

But that has not stopped Conservative Party whips from telling MPs to keep their diaries open for Friday.

One influential pro-Brexit backbencher, Jacob Rees-Mogg, appears to have backflipped on his fierce opposition to the deal, saying he would support it providing the DUP did, and that "half a loaf is better than no bread".

"I have come to this view because the numbers in Parliament make it clear that all the other potential outcomes are worse and an awkward reality needs to be faced," he wrote in a comment piece for the UK's Daily Mail newspaper.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-28/british-mps-reject-alternative-brexit-option/10946880
 
Efforts to persuade MPs to back Theresa May's Brexit deal will continue on Thursday, a day after she promised to quit as PM if it was approved.

Her pledge brought some on-side, such as ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

But challenges remain for the PM after Northern Ireland's DUP, who she relies on for support, said it would not back the deal because of the Irish backstop.

Meanwhile, none of eight alternative Brexit proposals brought by MPs secured backing in a series of Commons votes.

The options - which included a customs union with the EU and a referendum on any Brexit deal - were supposed to help find a consensus over how best to leave the EU.

But the failure of any of them to garner support from a majority of MPs led Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay to say it strengthened ministers' view their deal was "the best option".

Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin, who oversaw the unprecedented process of "indicative votes", said the lack of a majority for any proposition was "disappointing".

While he said he believed MPs should be allowed to have another go at reaching a consensus on Monday, he said this would not be needed if the PM's deal was approved before then.

Ahead of Wednesday's debate, Mrs May told a meeting of Conservative backbenchers she would leave office earlier than planned if it guaranteed Parliament's backing for her withdrawal agreement with the EU.

Mrs May told her MPs: "I have heard very clearly the mood of the parliamentary party. I know there is a desire for a new approach - and new leadership - in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations - and I won't stand in the way of that."

She told MPs she would resign as party leader after 22 May - the new Brexit date - but stay on as PM until a new leader is elected. However, Downing Street said it would be a "different ball game" if the deal was not passed.

Her announcement that she would not lead the talks with Brussels over the future relationship between the UK an EU prompted a number of Tory opponents of her deal to signal their backing.

Prominent Leave supporters such as Mr Johnson and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said they now viewed the deal as the least-worst option.

But Mrs May needs to win over 75 rebels to overturn the 149-vote rejection of her deal on 13 March.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG), said he would only support the deal if the 10 MPs of the DUP did so.

"I won't abandon the DUP because I think they are the champions of the Union of the United Kingdom," he told the BBC.

The DUP's main objection is to the backstop, the "insurance policy" designed to avoid the return of border checkpoints between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the event a future trade deal is not agreed.

It argues that the measure would result in Northern Ireland having to abide by different trade rules to the rest of the UK, which leader Arlene Foster says would "damage the Union".

"The backstop in that Withdrawal Agreement makes it impossible for us to sign up to the agreement," she told the BBC.

Meanwhile, ERG vice-chairman Steve Baker suggested he may resign the Conservative whip rather than vote for the deal.

The prime minister offered to pay the ultimate price, and leave office - the grandest of gestures any leader ever really has.

For a moment it seemed it might work and line up the support she so desperately needs.

But within a couple of hours her allies in Northern Ireland were refusing to unblock the progress of Theresa May's main mission.

That might not be terminal - one cabinet minister told me the PM may yet have another go at pushing her deal through Parliament against the odds on Friday.

But if Plan A fails, Parliament is not ready with a clear Plan B that could yet succeed.

For our politics, for businesses trying to make decisions, for all of us, divisions and tensions between and inside our government - and our Parliament - are too profound to bring this limbo to an end.

Read Laura's thoughts in full
Despite this, Mrs May is thought to be considering a third attempt to get MPs to back the deal, potentially on Friday.

However, there are signs her offer to resign has hardened Labour opposition.

Shadow cabinet sources told the BBC potential Labour rebels would not want to make it easier for the PM to make way for a Brexiteer successor.

If Mrs May's deal is not approved this week, MPs are likely to resume discussions about some of the options rejected through the indicative voting process.

Which Brexit options did your MP support on 27 March?
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How MPs voted
Confirmatory referendum - For: 268 Against: 295
Customs union - For: 264 Against: 272
Labour's Brexit plan - For: 237 Against: 307
Common Market 2.0 - For: 188 Against: 283
Revoking Article 50 to avoid no deal - For: 184 Against: 293
No-deal exit on 12 April - For: 160 Against: 400
Malthouse Plan B - For: 139 Against: 422
EFTA and EEA membership - For: 65 Against: 377
Commons Speaker John Bercow said on Wednesday the process agreed by the House allowed for a second stage of debate on Monday and there was no reason this should not continue.

While it was up to MPs, he said there was an understanding Wednesday's objective was to "shortlist" a number of options before moving on to consider the "most popular".

Mr Barclay, however, appealed to MPs to back the PM's deal "in the national interest".

"The House has considered a wide variety of options as a way forward," he said.

"And it demonstrates there are no easy options here. There is no simple way forward. The deal the government has negotiated is a compromise...That is the nature of complex negotiations."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47729773
 
The Brexit process remains in deadlock as MPs struggle to find a consensus on the next steps.

The Commons failed to find a majority for a way forward after voting for eight different options on Wednesday.

And while some senior Brexiteers have moved towards supporting Theresa May's deal, the MPs she relies on in the DUP have refused to alter their stance.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom told MPs there would be a further debate on a government Brexit motion on Friday.

But it is unclear yet whether this will end with a third "meaningful vote" on the PM's deal.

On Wednesday, Speaker John Bercow reiterated that he would not allow a third "meaningful vote" on "substantially the same" motion as MPs had already rejected by historic margins twice.

But Mrs Leadsom told the Commons: "The motion tabled will comply with the Speaker's ruling."

She added: "The only way we ensure we leave in good time on 22 May is by approving the withdrawal agreement by 23:00 GMT on 29 March."

Reaction as MPs reject all Brexit optionsNo majority for any of Brexit optionsHow did my MP vote on Brexit options?

Mrs May won some support for her plan by saying she would resign ahead of the next round of EU negotiations if her deal passes.

Her close ally and former deputy Damian Green told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the prime minister will "take the path of soldiering on".

But although the prime minister has won over the likes of former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, a number of hardcore Brexiteers are still refusing to vote for the deal.

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab said he still believed it is still possible to get concessions from the EU on the deal, but if the bloc does not move, there should be "sensible conversations" around no-deal.

And the vice-chairman of the backbench European Research Group, Steve Baker, has suggested he may resign the Conservative whip rather than vote for the deal.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47729773
 
MPs will vote again on Brexit on Friday but it is not clear whether it will be another "meaningful vote" on the PM's withdrawal deal.

Asked whether the motion would be the "full package", Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said discussion was "ongoing".

There is speculation that MPs might be asked to vote on the withdrawal agreement but not the further "political declaration".

Labour said that would lead to the "blindest of blind Brexits".

The PM's deal includes a withdrawal agreement - setting out how much money the UK must pay to the EU as a settlement, details of the transition period, and the backstop arrangements - and a political declaration on the way the future EU-UK relationship will work.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said both European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had stressed that the withdrawal agreement and political declaration were part of the same "negotiated package".

He said to separate them "would mean leaving the EU with absolutely no idea where we are heading ... we wouldn't vote for that".

Previous "meaningful votes" on the deal involved both the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration but Speaker John Bercow has said he would not allow a third "meaningful vote" on "substantially the same" motion as MPs had already rejected by historic margins twice.

Withdrawal agreement No deal Customs union WTO rules Backstop plan Irish border
The BBC's Vicki Young said separating the two might get around the Speaker's ruling but, after Sir Keir's intervention, looked unlikely to get more votes on board.

Last week the European Council agreed to postpone Brexit beyond the expected date of 29 March - offering an extension until 22 May, if MPs approved the deal negotiated with the EU by the end of this week. If not, it offered a shorter delay until 12 April, allowing the UK time to get the deal through or to "indicate a way forward".

BBC Brussels reporter Adam Fleming said the official conclusions from last week's summit only mention the withdrawal agreement, not the political declaration.

Announcing the government's intention to table a motion for debate on Friday, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said there would be a motion put forward later "relating to the UK's withdrawal from the EU."

"The motion tabled will comply with the Speaker's ruling but the only way we ensure we leave in good time on May 22 is by approving the Withdrawal Agreement by 11pm on March 29, which is tomorrow.

"The European Council has agreed to an extension until May 22 provided the Withdrawal Agreement is approved by the House of Commons this week.

"It's crucial we make every effort to give effect to that and to allow the House to debate this important issue."

Her Labour shadow Valerie Vaz asked for "further clarity... on whether this is in fact the meaningful vote three?"

Mrs Leadsom said the motion would be tabled "as soon as possible" and discussions were "ongoing".

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47729773
 
The PM’s deal is actually getting quite close to passing now, especially if some Labour backbenchers vote for it - however without the DUP I think it’ll still fall short by around 20.

The root cause of these repeated inconclusive votes across all subjects is the parliamentary numbers. So the only possible way out of this is a General Election. That’s where we are heading.
 
Brexit vote: Another defeat ahead for May?

It won't be third time lucky, or unlucky for the prime minister when she puts part of her deal back to MPs.

But what Number 10 is asking for is Parliament to give her backing for Meaningful Vote 2.5.

Theresa May knows that the Commons is not yet ready to accept her deal in its entirety.

The resistance is too great, the work in Parliament to find an alternative to her agreement now well established, for the government to have a hope of persuading Parliament suddenly to snap in line and give her the support she has for so long failed to muster.

But the vote, on what was meant to be Brexit Day, is a request to MPs to allow her to keep going, to carry on pursuing her route, with its well-documented flaws.

There's a challenge there too, not just to her own Brexiteers but to Labour and the other opposition parties, to say "no" to a long delay to our departure from the EU, the last moment when Number 10 believes anything even approaching a timely exit can be guaranteed.

There are signs now of course that many Eurosceptic MPs are ready to say "yes" - not because they suddenly have realised her deal is perfect but because more of them officially realise that it is the clearest break from the EU they can realistically hope for.

Yet her Northern Irish allies are not persuaded. Labour, even though they have sometimes accepted that what's on the table tomorrow, the divorce deal, will never be unpicked by the EU, will still, in the main, resist.

As things stand, even though some influential Brexiteers believe tonight there is a chance it will get through, it looks like Theresa May is heading for another loss.

But for Number 10, it is another way of extending the road before it finally runs out, or at least trying.

And in this environment, with control slipping away, that, for Theresa May, is worth a try.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47742243
 
Theresa May will attempt to get MPs to back part of her Brexit deal later, in a bid to secure a delay until 22 May.

MPs will vote on the withdrawal agreement, which sets out the terms of the UK's departure from the EU.

Ministers say their backing is vital if Britain is to avoid a disorderly exit.

But Labour will vote against it, saying that denying MPs a say on the political declaration section of the deal, which outlines the shape of future UK-EU relations, is a "blindfold Brexit".

Friday's vote will not allow Parliament to ratify the entire withdrawal package, because the law allows this only after the passage of a "meaningful vote" on both parts of the deal.

The prime minister has already lost two such votes on the full deal by large margins, and Commons Speaker John Bercow had ruled out bringing the same motion back a third time without "substantial" changes.

However, the government says a vote on the withdrawal deal alone will be enough to meet the criteria laid down by EU leaders for the postponement of Brexit from 29 March to 22 May.

With Labour and the DUP planning to vote against it, the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said it looked like the prime minister was heading for another loss on Friday.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood told BBC Newsnight: "There are some big challenges here.

"It's a key day and probably the last opportunity to get this particular motion across."

If the government is defeated, ministers will have until 12 April - the date by which the UK would have to indicate whether it would stand candidates in the 2019 European Parliament elections - to get the deal through or "indicate a way forward".

The vote, on what was meant to be Brexit Day, is a request to MPs to allow her to keep going, to carry on pursuing her route, with its well-documented flaws.

There's a challenge there too, not just to her own Brexiteers but to Labour and the other opposition parties, to say "no" to a long delay to our departure from the EU, the last moment when Number 10 believes anything even approaching a timely exit can be guaranteed.

There are signs now of course that many Eurosceptic MPs are ready to say yes - not because they suddenly have realised her deal is perfect but because more of them officially realise that it is the clearest break from the EU they can realistically hope for.

Yet her Northern Irish allies are not persuaded. Labour, even though they have sometimes accepted that what's on the table tomorrow, the divorce deal, will never be unpicked by the EU, will still, in the main, resist.

The withdrawal agreement sets out how much money the UK must pay to the EU as a settlement, citizens' rights, details of the transition period, and the controversial arrangements for the backstop, which seeks to prevent the return of customs infrastructure at the Irish border in the event no UK-EU trade deal is enforced.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said approving it would ensure the UK leaves the EU "in an orderly way that gives businesses and people the certainty that they need".

"We don't want to be in the situation of asking for another extension and facing the potential requirement of participating in European Parliament elections," she said.

But she faced anger from some MPs. Labour's Mary Creagh described it as an "extraordinary and unprecedented reverse-ferret of the commitments that have been made... that we should have our say on both items together".

If the government wins the vote, it will either have to pass the political declaration on the future relationship at a later date, or change the law so that it is not needed to ratify the treaty.

Mrs May told Conservative MPs this week that she would not lead the talks with Brussels over the future relationship between the UK and EU and would resign as party leader after 22 May if her deal was passed, but stay on as PM until a new leader is elected.

While she has persuaded some Brexiteers to back her deal, she would need to win over 75 rebels to overturn the 149-vote rejection of her deal when it was last voted on, on 13 March.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/47740955
 
MPs have been told they face their "last opportunity" to ensure the Brexit process is extended to 22 May and bring certainty to people and businesses.

The attorney general said any further extension past 12 April would be "subject to the veto" of 27 EU leaders.

MPs will be asked to approve only part of the PM's Brexit deal, the withdrawal agreement, covering the terms of exit.

Labour said separating that from the political declaration would mean voting on a "blindfold Brexit".

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC's Today programme: "Take the political declaration off and it is completely blind - you have no idea what you are really voting for."

Up to 13 separate scheduled protests and counter protests are expected in Westminster on Friday - the day that Britain was scheduled to leave the EU.

These include the "March to Leave" procession, which left Sunderland two weeks ago, which is due to arrive in Parliament Square.

MPs will vote on the withdrawal agreement, a legally-binding document setting out the terms of the UK's departure from the EU, at 14:30 GMT.

It includes:

Details of the UK's £39bn financial settlement with the EU
Guarantees about the rights of EU and UK citizens
Details of "transition period" until the end of 2020

Controversial arrangements for the backstop, which seeks to prevent the return of customs infrastructure at the Irish border in the event no UK-EU trade deal is enforced.

He said that the European Council last week had agreed that Brexit could be delayed until 22 May - if the withdrawal agreement was approved by the end of this week.

If they do not, EU leaders have offered a shorter delay until 12 April - the date by which the UK would have to indicate whether it would stand candidates in the 2019 European Parliament elections - to allow the UK time to get the PM's whole deal through or to "indicate a way forward".

"This is therefore the last opportunity to take advantage of our legal right and the government has taken the view that it would be wrong to allow that time and date to expire, without giving this House the opportunity to consider whether it should avail itself of the legal right," Mr Cox told MPs.


Withdrawal agreement No deal Customs union WTO rules Backstop plan Irish border
He said it did not amount to a "meaningful vote" on the overall deal - as it did not include the political declaration but he said the EU had accepted that that part of the deal was still open to negotiation, while the withdrawal agreement was not.

The government says that voting on the withdrawal agreement alone will be enough to meet the criteria laid down by EU leaders for the postponement of Brexit from 29 March to 22 May while also meeting Speaker John Bercow's requirement that any more votes on the whole deal - which has been twice rejected by large margins - must be different from the last two.

Mr Cox indicated that the government would have been willing to accept a Labour backbench amendment - had it been accepted by the Commons Speaker - which would have meant the prime minister would not have been able to sign an agreement with the EU on the longer term future relationship, without approval from MPs.

He said approving the deal on Friday would "bring certainty to thousands of businesses and millions of individuals throughout this country and one million citizens of our country residing in the EU".

But Labour's Chris Bryant said it would bring "no certainty" as it would not mean the overall deal was ratified: "If anything, today throws more uncertainty into the process."


Media captionLiam Fox says political system is at risk if Brexit isn't implemented
And Labour MP Hilary Benn questioned whether if Brexit was delayed until 22 May, but no agreement was reached by then on the political declaration, whether the UK would be able to seek a further extension.

He suggested it would then be too late to take part in the European parliamentary elections, which the EU has indicated the UK would need to do if it was to get a longer delay to Brexit.

The SNP's Ian Blackford accused the prime minister of having "run down this clock, only to ignore the wishes of Parliament, the wishes of the people and engage in a game of blackmail and trickery to win support".

But Conservative former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who has voted against the deal twice, tweeted that he would now vote for it - despite remaining "intensely critical" of it.

And fellow Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith also said he would reluctantly back the process, as did former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, who said that although it was a "bad deal" there was a "significant risk of losing Brexit altogether" if it did not go through.

But Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party said they would be voting against the deal, with its Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson telling MPs: "We as a party cannot put our hand to an agreement which would have Northern Ireland treated differently."

There is little expectation in the EU today that the withdrawal agreement will pass.

If it does, EU leaders will breath a huge sigh of relief.

They are not bothered that the political declaration on post Brexit EU-UK relations is being kept out of the vote.

Brussels has always said it was open to renegotiating it. The divorce issues in the withdrawal agreement are their priority.

The overwhelming mood in the EU today is one of resignation.

For the first time, EU leaders are looking at a no-deal Brexit as a very real possibility, rather than a distant, unlikely prospect.

It's forcing them to grapple with internal issues that up until now were viewed as too much of a hot potato. Primarily what happens on the Ireland/Northern Ireland border in a no-deal scenario.

EU leaders are putting pressure on Dublin to do more to prepare. The EU priority is to safeguard the single market, meaning that checks and some infrastructure will likely be necessary even if they are away from the border itself.

But we're not there yet.

If the vote fails today, the prime minister could opt to delay Brexit even longer. EU leaders plan to hold an emergency summit on 10 April to hear what she decides.

But attitudes hardened at their last meeting. The EU will insist the UK takes part in European Parliamentary elections in May as a condition for getting a longer extension. EU leaders' focus is no longer on the UK and whether it stays or goes. They see their priority now as damage control - protecting themselves as much as possible from any Brexit fall-out.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47742395
 
MPs reject Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286, a majority of 58, throwing UK’s Brexit plans into more confusion.

Mrs May said the vote would have "grave" implications and the "legal default" was that the UK would leave on 12 April.

That meant there would not be enough time to get legislation through to avoid a no-deal Brexit, she said.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for her to resign and call an election.

Responding to the vote, European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: "In view of the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement by the House of Commons, I have decided to call a European Council on 10 April."

The result of the vote means the UK has missed an EU deadline to secure an extension of the Brexit process and leave with a deal on 22 May.

Mrs May now has until 12 April to seek a longer extension to the negotiation process to avoid a no-deal Brexit on that date.

With a clear majority in the Commons against a no-deal Brexit, and with MPs holding more votes on alternative plans on Monday, Mrs May said that the UK would have to find "an alternative way forward".

This was "almost certain" to involve to hold European Parliament elections in May, she said.

The prime minister said that the outcome was "a matter of profound regret".

Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Brexiteer Conservatives, said it was time for Mrs May to quit.

"This must be the final defeat for Theresa May's deal. It's finished. And we must move on.

"It has not passed. It will not pass. I regret to say it is time for Theresa May to follow through on her words and make way so that a new leader can deliver a withdrawal agreement which will be passed by Parliament."

Mr Baker was one of 34 Conservative rebels to vote against the agreement, along with the Democratic Unionist Party and the Labour Party. Five Labour MPs voted for the agreement.

This was not a third "meaningful vote" on the PM's EU deal, which also includes a political declaration on future relations between the UK and the EU, and which has previously been rejected by larger margins.

By holding a vote on the withdrawal agreement only, the government had hoped to secure a short delay to Brexit and avoid the UK taking part in May's European elections.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47752017
 
Theresa May hopes to bring her Brexit deal back to parliament again next week after it was rejected for a third time by MPs – and appears poised to trigger a general election if parliament fails to agree a way forward.

Despite the embattled prime minister’s dramatic promise on Wednesday that she would hand over the keys to 10 Downing Street if her Tory colleagues backed the withdrawal agreement, parliament voted against it on Friday, by 344 to 286.

The Commons vote was held on the day when Britain was meant to be leaving the European Union, as Parliament Square outside overflowed with raucous pro-Brexit protesters.

A string of leave-supporting Conservative backbenchers who had twice rejected the deal, including Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, switched sides to support the agreement. But with Labour unwilling to shift its position, and the Democratic Unionist party’s 10 MPs implacably opposed, it was not enough to secure a majority for May.

The result was a sense of stunned disbelief in Westminster. Asked what could happen next, one government source said: “Last one out, turn off the lights.”

Immediately after the defeat was announced, May told MPs: “The implications of the house’s decision are grave. The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12 April. In just 14 days’ time.”

Under the deal agreed by EU leaders in Brussels last week, if May had passed her withdrawal agreement this week, Brexit would have been delayed until 22 May. Now, she will have to return to Brussels for an emergency European council summit on 10 April.

The EU27 expect her to ask for a longer delay – requiring Britain to participate in the European elections in May – or accept a no-deal Brexit two days later. However, her aides hope the 22 May date could still be in play if her deal is accepted next week.

May did not spell out explicitly what she planned to do next, saying only that she would press ahead with an “orderly Brexit”. However, it became increasingly clear after the vote that Downing Street does not believe the deal is dead.

The prime minister pointed to MPs’ plans to hold a second round of indicative votes on Monday, “to see if there is a stable majority for a particular alternative version of our future relationship with the EU”.

But she told MPs: “I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this house.” Many regarded that as a warning that if they supported an option she was not prepared to implement, or failed to reach agreement on an alternative, she was ready to call a general election.

Government sources suggested she was first likely to make another attempt to force her deal through parliament in a third “meaningful vote”. This might happen in a “run-off” against any successful alternative from Monday’s indicative votes.

The government has been discussing with the Speaker, John Bercow, whether there is a way to hold MV3 that would not fall foul of his insistence that the same proposition cannot be put before parliament again.

A Downing Street spokesman highlighted the fact that May’s margin of defeat, 58, was smaller than the 149 majority she lost by earlier this month, and the crushing 230-strong defeat in the first meaningful vote in January. “We are at least going in the right direction,” the spokesman said.

No 10 sources also pointed out that her deal had won more supporters than any of the eight options considered by MPs in Wednesday’s indicative votes, in which the most popular, a customs union, received the backing of 268 MPs.

Backers of the various alternatives were discussing how to build a proposition that could command a majority on Monday. Cabinet ministers were instructed to abstain in last week’s process, which the government had initially tried to scupper by whipping MPs to vote against the business motion.

May is likely to come under pressure to offer a free vote to cabinet supporters of a soft Brexit – the “Gaukward squad” – on Monday.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/29/mps-reject-theresa-mays-brexit-deal-third-time
 
Theresa May and her cabinet are looking for ways to bring her EU withdrawal agreement back to the Commons for a fourth attempt at winning MPs' backing.

The PM said the UK would need "an alternative way forward" after her plan was defeated by 58 votes on Friday.

MPs from all parties will test support for other options during a second round of "indicative votes" on Monday.

But government sources have not ruled out a run-off between whichever proves most popular and the PM's Brexit plan.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on Mrs May to change her deal or resign immediately, while Northern Ireland's DUP - which has propped up Mrs May's minority government - also continues to oppose the deal.

The government has so far failed to win over 34 Conservative rebels, including both Remainers and Tory Brexiteers who say the deal still leaves the UK too closely aligned to Europe.

However, a No 10 source indicated the prime minister would continue to seek support in the Commons.

They insisted efforts were "going in the right direction", given the margin of defeat was down from 149 a fortnight ago.

Leave voters registered their anger at the latest rejection, on the day the UK was originally scheduled to leave the EU.

Thousands gathered outside Parliament to protest against the delay, bringing traffic to a standstill.

And the Conservative former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who has campaigned for a further referendum on the deal, lost a vote of no-confidence in his Beaconsfield constituency.

There is every chance that the prime minister will again - with routes outside the normal boundaries - try to make a version of her Brexit deal the end result of all of this.

Despite a third defeat, despite the embarrassment of repeated losses, don't imagine that she is ready to say a permanent farewell to the compromise deal she brokered with the EU or, straightaway, to her time in office.

There is still a belief in the heart of government that there could be a way round, perhaps to include the prime minister's agreed treaty as one of the options that is subject to a series of votes that will be put in front of the Commons next week.

The aspiration, strange as it sounds, for some time now has been to prove to MPs that the deal is the least worst of all the options...

Read Laura's thoughts in full
Mrs May has until 12 April to seek a longer extension to the negotiation process to avoid the UK leaving without a deal, which most MPs believe could harm business and create disruption at ports.

However, she said any further delay to Brexit was "almost certain" to involve staging elections to the European Parliament in May.

Downing Street later said this was not an "inevitability" but Justice Minister Rory Stewart told BBC Newsnight Friday's vote had been "the last chance" to avoid that.

He said it would take a "miracle" - and the support of up to 150 Conservatives - on Monday for a majority of MPs to back a Brexit option that supported staying in the customs union.

This allows businesses to move goods around the bloc without checks or charges but continued membership would bar the UK from striking independent trade deals.

And BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said: "Leaving it was a Conservative manifesto commitment, and an about-turn on that could tear apart the party from the cabinet down."

What happens next?

Monday, 1 April: MPs hold another set of votes on various Brexit options to see if they can agree on a way forward
Wednesday, 3 April: Potentially another round of so-called "indicative votes"
Wednesday, 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday, 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek/EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections
The withdrawal agreement is the part of the Brexit deal Mrs May struck with Brussels that sets out how much money the UK must pay to the EU as a settlement, details of the transition period, and the Irish backstop arrangements.

Downing Street said Mrs May would continue to talk to the Democratic Unionist Party about more reassurances over the backstop - the "insurance policy" designed to prevent physical infrastructure at the Irish border.

The DUP says that by temporarily subjecting Northern Ireland to different regulations to the rest of the UK, the backstop would risk a permanent split.

Its Westminster leader Nigel Dodds told Newsnight: "I would stay in the European Union and remain, rather than risk Northern Ireland's position. That's how strongly I feel."

And Conservative Mid-Norfolk MP George Freeman, who backed Mrs May's deal, told the programme a cross-party solution was needed.

"The prime minister has run out of the road. We need to be setting up a Brexit war cabinet," he said.

After the result of the latest vote was announced, Mr Corbyn said: "The House has been clear, this deal now has to change.

"If the prime minister can't accept that then she must go, not at an indeterminate date in the future but now. So that we can decide the future of this country through a general election."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47756122
 
EU leaders head into this weekend with a heavy heart. They know, in theory, that all Brexit options remain on the table and they haven't entirely given up hope of a negotiated UK departure, but there is little trust here that the prime minister or Parliament will manage to pull it off.

Despite all the drama, the money and time spent by EU leaders on Brexit over the last two years (summits, dedicated governmental departments, no-deal planning), all the hard, hard graft put in by the EU and UK negotiating teams, Europe's leaders are asking themselves what there is to show for it all.

Ongoing Brexit divisions in parliament, in government and in Theresa May's cabinet were on screaming technicolour display again last week.

EU leaders used to use the threat of a no-deal Brexit as a negotiating tactic (as did the UK). They now believe it to be a very real prospect.

That has led to a number of countries - notably France - questioning the logic of delaying Brexit for much longer.

They wonder if the UK will ever unite around a Brexit Way Forward - be it a softer Brexit, no deal or no Brexit.

Would a Brexit extension, allowing for a general election or a second referendum, really settle the issue, they ask?

Or will the EU and UK end up in a no deal scenario anyway, after countless extra months of agonising (and costly) uncertainty?

France's President Macron - suffering from sagging popularity ratings at home - is hell-bent on breathing life in to the European project.

He is far from excited at the idea of having a recalcitrant UK - with 8.5 toes already out of the club - overshadowing proceedings for the immediate future.

In the next few months, the EU holds decisive elections for the European parliament, where populist nationalists are predicted to make a strong showing. New European Commission and European Council presidents will need to be chosen and the next EU budget should be decided this autumn. The French president is not alone in worrying that an in-the-process-of leaving UK could throw a spanner in the works if it so chose.

This is not to say that the answer will be no if the prime minister comes to the emergency Brexit summit of EU leaders on 10 April, asking for a longer delay.

But there is a lively debate right now in EU circles about the virtue of granting the UK (by law all EU counties must come to a unanimous decision) a longer Brexit delay vs no deal in April or May. Of course no deal would be costly for the EU too, but for some, it's beginning to look like the best of a bunch of bad options.

Treating a no-deal Brexit as a looming, very real possibility, rather than a distant, highly unlikely prospect, is making the EU take a long, hard look at its own no-deal planning.

At every opportunity, in press statements and tweets, EU leaders boast that they are fully prepared- but that is not entirely true.

Some countries and businesses are better prepared than others, but there are two hot potato political issues that - up until now - EU leaders have shied away from confronting.

No longer.

Spain is now being told to stop trying to score points - however small - over Gibraltar. Madrid's insistence on describing the Rock as a UK colony has held up finalising a document ensuring EU-wide, visa-free travel for UK citizens throughout the EU in case of no deal.

But the EU's main no deal planning concern is the Irish border.

Leaders are beginning to lean on Dublin now to finesse its plans for the border with Northern Ireland in case of a no deal Brexit. The Irish government has kept plans vague until now because the idea of border checks is politically so sensitive on the island. But Brussels believes checks and some physical infrastructure will be needed, even if it's away from the border itself.

Dodds 'would remain over risking union'
Germany's Angela Merkel is scheduled to fly to Dublin next week.

Whatever happens with Brexit, she and other European leaders want to make sure their single market will be protected.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47756377
 
Brexit: PM cannot 'ignore' soft Brexit MPs, says minister

It would not be "sustainable" to ignore MPs if they vote for a softer Brexit, Justice Secretary David Gauke has said.

On Monday, Parliament will hold an indicative vote on Brexit alternatives. A customs union with the EU is thought to be the most likely preference.

Meanwhile, the prime minister is considering her next move after her plan was defeated for a third time.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday that patience was running out with the UK.

In an Italian television interview, Mr Juncker said that the EU wanted to see MPs reach an agreement about the terms of the UK's departure in the coming hours and days.

Mr Gauke said there are "no ideal choices" over the Brexit deadlock.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he argued the prime minister's deal was "the best outcome".

But he added: "Sometimes you do have to accept your second or third choice to avoid an outcome you consider to be even worse."

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said it would be "inconceivable" if there was a general election and his party did not include a new referendum in its manifesto.

Following the UK's vote to leave the EU in 2016, Theresa May negotiated a withdrawal deal with the EU.

Although European leaders agreed to the plan, Mrs May has yet to get the deal approved by Parliament.

The prime minister has until 12 April to seek a longer extension to the Article 50 process if the UK is to avoid leaving without a deal.

The prime minister's deal is currently opposed by parties including Northern Ireland's DUP - which the government relies upon for support - as well as a group of her own MPs.

Tory Brexiteer Steve Baker, who resigned as a Brexit minister over the PM's handling of negotiations, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that Mrs May's deal "cannot be allowed to go through at any cost".

However he admitted deciding to vote for it on Thursday before being talked out of it by friends.

What next?
Monday, 1 April: MPs hold another set of votes on Brexit options to see if they can agree on a way forward
Wednesday, 3 April: Potentially another round of so-called "indicative votes"
Wednesday, 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday, 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek/EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections
On Monday, MPs have a non-binding vote on a series of options designed to test the will of Parliament. The intention is to see what outcome, if any, commands a majority.

None of MPs' eight proposed options secured a majority in the first set of indicative votes on 27 March, but those which received the most were a customs union with the EU and a referendum on any deal.

A customs union would allow businesses to move goods around the EU without tariffs, ie taxes - but membership would bar the UK from striking independent trade deals after Brexit.

Mr Gauke said he was in favour of leaving the customs union, arguing that it would "better reflect the way the country voted in 2016".

Membership of a customs union would breach the Conservative's 2017 manifesto.

But he acknowledged that his party "does not have the votes to get its manifesto position through the House of Commons at the moment".

"We are in an environment where it is not just about going for your first choice," he added.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood told Radio 4's The World This Weekend he would support something along the lines of customs union membership - if the prime minister's deal could not get through Parliament.

"I fear that is the only option we have if we want to honour the referendum" he said.

Mr Gauke reiterated his opposition to a no-deal Brexit, warning he would leave government if such a policy was pursued.

A no-deal Brexit would mean cutting ties with the European Union immediately and defaulting to World Trade Organisation rules for trade.

Tom Watson said there was an "emerging consensus" among Labour MPs.

He said: "Whatever the deal looks like - and we understand there has to be compromises - if it's underpinned by a People's Vote that is the way we can bring the country back together."

Speaking on Sky News, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said under a Labour government it was "likely" that the UK would leave the European Union.

When asked if Labour was a Remain party, Ms Thornberry replied: "In our hearts we want to remain but we have to square that with democracy.

"If the people want us to leave we have to leave."

'Last thing we need'
Ms Thornberry also said "it looks like the time may come" for another attempted no confidence vote in the government.

If passed, this would pave the way for a general election.

The deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, James Cleverly, told Sky News that his party is doing "sensible pragmatic planning" in case there is a snap general election, but not seeking to call one.

And Mr Gauke warned he did not see how a general election would solve the current deadlock.

Former Conservative prime minister John Major said: "When feelings are running high... a general election is pretty much the very last thing we need."

But he added: "We might be driven to it later."

If an election failed to produce a majority in the Commons, Sir John suggested a "time limited" national unity government should be formed.

He said: "I think it would be in the national interest to have a cross-party government so we can take decisions without the chaos that we're seeing in Parliament at the moment where every possible alternative is rejected."

"I don't think it is ideal, I would prefer a Conservative government with a clear majority."

But he argued such a government would at least enable decisions to be taken.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47765706
 
MPs are debating the possible next steps for Brexit as they try to break the deadlock in Parliament.

Four options have been chosen by the Speaker to be voted on later, including a customs union and a referendum.

Labour MPs are being urged to back a plan to keep the UK in a Norway-style relationship with the EU.

Under the Common Market 2.0 proposal, the UK would leave the EU, but retain freedom of movement and make contributions to the EU Budget.

Conservative MPs are being given a free vote on the motions - meaning they will not be told by party bosses which way to go - but the cabinet has been told to abstain.

During the debate, 11 climate change activists staged a protest in the public gallery, taking their clothes off to reveal slogans painted on their bodies.

Police were called to remove them from the viewing platform.

The Common Market 2.0 motion - put forward by Tory MP Nick Boles - may also be backed by the SNP.

But the PM's spokesman said ending free movement was a "very important factor" for the public when voting for Brexit, so they would oppose it.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, speaking to the BBC's World at One programme, refused to say whether Labour's position on free movement had changed.

When asked if she was compromising on freedom of movement, she said "we are trying to pull the House of Commons together".

None of today's votes on the proposals are legally binding, meaning it will be up to the government if they act on the results.

Theresa May tried to get MPs to back the withdrawal agreement element of her deal on Friday, but lost by 58 votes - having already failed twice to get support for her overall deal in Parliament.

She now has until 12 April to either seek a longer extension to the deadline or decide to leave the EU without a deal.

The cabinet is now split over whether to move to a softer deal that could mean including a customs union in her plan.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC joining a customs union would be a "betrayal of Brexit".

How will the rest of the day unfold?
The Commons started with MPs debating and voting on a business motion that laid out plans for the votes later and set aside time for any next steps on Wednesday.

It was approved by 322 votes to 277.

The Speaker John Bercow then decided which motions to take forward for MPs to vote on tonight.

He picked four of the eight put forward:

Motion C: Committing the government to negotiating "a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU" as part of any Brexit deal - proposed by Tory former chancellor Ken Clarke
Motion D: Referred to as Common Market 2.0, this option would mean joining the European Free Trade Association and European Economic Area - proposed by Tory MP Nick Boles
Motion E: This is for a confirmatory referendum, giving the public a vote to approve any Brexit deal passed by Parliament before it can be implemented - proposed by Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson
Motion G: The motion aims to prevent the UK leaving without a deal, including a vote on whether to revoke Article 50 - stopping Brexit - if the EU does not agree to an extension - proposed by the SNP's Joanna Cherry
He did not choose motions calling for a unilateral exit to the backstop, to leave on 12 April without a deal, to hold a referendum in the case of no-deal or to rejoin the European Free Trade Association.

You can read more about the proposals here.

MPs are now debating the proposals until 20:00 BST, after which - as with the indicative votes last week - MPs will be given a piece of paper listing all the options and tick "yes" or "no" on as many as they want.

The House will be suspended for 30 minutes to allow the votes to take place. It took two hours for the votes to be counted before, so the result could be around 22:00 BST.

Will any of the options get a majority?
When MPs voted on proposals last week, all eight failed to win a majority in the Commons.

However, the plan for a customs union - allowing UK businesses to move goods around the EU without tariffs, but stopping the UK striking independent trade deals - and a confirmatory referendum came the closest.

A number of cabinet ministers have spoken out against the proposal.

Mr Fox said that if the UK pursued a customs union, it would have to follow rules set by the EU, adding: "It's time we went back to a proper Brexit."

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said agreeing a customs union would "compromise" pledges the party made in their 2017 manifesto, while Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said ministers were "determined" to avoid that happening.

Meanwhile, Tory MP Huw Merriman has written to around 200 of his colleagues who have voted in favour of Mrs May's deal, appealing for them to back the confirmatory referendum motion to prevent the customs union option succeeding.

He said: "It is the only option which keeps the [PM's] deal alive and is not contingent on more EU negotiations."

Digital Minister Margot James also told BBC Two's Politics Live that she is thinking about changing her mind to back a confirmatory referendum.

Labour's Dame Margaret Beckett, who proposed the previous motion for a confirmatory public vote, said she was happy to vote for motions like a customs union, so it could attract scrutiny.

"But they're unlikely to command a stable majority in Parliament unless they are attached to much longer extension that allows enough time for them to be properly scrutinised and negotiated - while not precluding a new public vote," she said.

What happens next?
Wednesday 3 April: Potentially another round of so-called "indicative votes"
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek/EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47776505
 
A group of protesters have stripped naked in the Houses of Commons as MPs debate Brexit.

Direct action group Extinction Rebellion said 14 activists had stripped off and glued their hands to surfaces in the public gallery to "call attention to the 'elephant in the room' - climate and ecological crisis."

"We are walking dangerously close to irreversible climate collapse - this is what it has come to," the group said.

MP James Heappey shared an image of the protesters from the floor of the Commons with the caption: "Parliament just got a little bit more nuts!"

Two of the activists wore full grey body paint and elephant masks, while some had words written on their bodies including "Climate justice act now" and "eco collapse".

The protest came as MPs prepare for a second round of indicative votes on alternative Brexit options.

Speaker John Bercow maintained that the debate ahead of the votes would proceed despite the protest.

Several doorkeepers attempted to remove the demonstrators, but they remained in position for several minutes.

Extinction Rebellion said police officers were questioning the activists after they had been removed from the House of Commons' chamber.

https://news.sky.com/story/protesters-strip-naked-in-commons-brexit-debate-11681629
 
Idiotic that the diehard Remainers object to the soft Brexit options due to this demented obsession with a second referendum.

CU and Common Market 2.0 was damn close to winning tonight.
 
Nick Boles, author of Common Market 2.0, literally resigns from the Conservative Party in the chamber !
 
Markhor said:
Idiotic that the diehard Remainers object to the soft Brexit options due to this demented obsession with a second referendum.

CU and Common Market 2.0 was damn close to winning tonight.
Click to expand...

By 3 and 21 votes respectively.

I think I would have voted for CM2.0 at this stage.

At least No Deal was defeated by 113 so that should be going nowhere.
 
Brexit deadlock continues after British MPs reject four alternative proposals

Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) remains deadlocked after the UK Parliament failed to agree on any alternative to Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal.

After a tumultuous week in which Mrs May's strategy was rejected by politicians for a third time, despite her offer to quit if it passed, the future direction of Brexit remains mired in confusion.

In a bid to break the impasse, MPs on Monday (local time) voted on four alternative Brexit options, but all options were defeated.

The option that came closest to securing a majority was a proposal to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU.

But that plan was defeated by three votes.

A proposal for a confirmatory referendum on any deal got the most votes, but was defeated 292–280.

The Government is firmly opposed to both of these.

The first, because it would mean giving up the freedom to make the independent trade deals longed for by many Eurosceptic MPs.

The second, because Mrs May said it would betray voters who were promised the result of the 2016 referendum would be implemented, and potentially solve nothing.

Possible fourth vote on May's Brexit deal

Brexit Minister Steven Barclay said after the results were announced that the default position was still that Britain would leave the EU on April 12 without a deal to soften the economic dislocation of an abrupt departure that is seen as a nightmare scenario for many international businesses.

"The only option is to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal," Mr Barclay told Parliament.

He hinted that Mrs May could put her deal to a fourth vote this week in the hope of securing an orderly exit before European elections are held from May 23 — an unpredictable complication the Government is determined to avoid.

"If the house were to agree a deal this week, it would still be possible to avoid holding European parliamentary elections," Mr Barclay said.

Mrs May is due to hold five hours of Cabinet meetings with senior ministers on Tuesday (local time) to plan the Government's next moves.

Last Friday, the third defeat of Mrs May's own withdrawal agreement left one of the weakest British leaders in a generation facing a spiralling crisis over Brexit, the UK's most far-reaching policy change since World War II.

MPs warn of consequences for supporting deal keeping close EU ties

Her Government and her Conservative Party, which has been trying to contain a schism over Europe for 30 years, are now riven between those who are demanding Mrs May pilot a decisive break with the bloc and those demanding that she rule out such an outcome.

If Mrs May was to throw her weight behind either camp, she would risk tearing her party apart and bringing down the Government.

Conservative MP Nick Boles, architect of the single-market option, acknowledged he had failed in his attempt to break the deadlock.

"I have failed chiefly because my party refuses to compromise," Mr Boles added, announcing that he was quitting the Conservatives to sit as an independent in Parliament.

Some Conservative politicians have warned they would support a motion of no confidence if she accepts calls for a Brexit that maintains many of the existing close economic ties with the EU.

Britain had been due to leave the EU on March 29 but the political deadlock in London forced Mrs May to ask the bloc for a delay.

As things stand, Britain will now depart on April 12 unless Mrs May comes up with another viable option.

The view from the EU

From EU officials watching from Brussels, there was one plea — make up your minds.

"A sphinx is an open book compared to the UK," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.

"Nobody knows where it is heading. Would like to make the sphinx talk and tell us in which direction they would like to go."

Hardline Conservative Eurosceptic Mark Francois has provided one possible clue.

"What took place in the House of Commons this evening was an attempted coup against the British people and the coup has failed," he said.

"I think 'no deal' is now highly likely."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-02/westminster-rejects-new-brexit-options/10961466
 
Common Market 2.0 was a carefully considered and appealing middle ground that could have later commanded a formal majority in the Commons, and symbolically for now would have made a big difference to the ongoing negotiations with the EU.

Boles may have resigned due to disappointment with his Leave-supporting Conservative colleagues, but in reality Common Market 2.0 (and indeed Clarke’s more general “Customs Union”) both failed directly because of the rabid Remain extremists in the Lib Dems and TIG, supposedly the centrist parties but completely unwilling to compromise on any solution that would not ultimately result in a revocation of Article 50.

Zero progress made once again. Sad times.
 
Robert said:
By 3 and 21 votes respectively.

I think I would have voted for CM2.0 at this stage.

At least No Deal was defeated by 113 so that should be going nowhere.
Click to expand...

Motion G: Aiming to prevent the UK leaving without a deal, including a vote on whether to revoke Article 50 - stopping Brexit altogether - if the EU does not agree to an extension - Against won by 101 votes.

I don't think no-deal is off the table. It remains the default legal position.

Custom's Union means UK cannot make new trade deals with non-EU nations, and Single Market means freedom of movement - Brexit in name only options.

Last night worked in May's favour. She has a chance to pass her deal. She just needs to find 27 votes. Threat of snap elections should do it!
 
MPs have again failed to agree on proposals for the next steps in the Brexit process.

The Commons voted on four alternatives to Theresa May's withdrawal deal, but none gained a majority. One Tory MP resigned the whip in frustration.

Mrs May will now hold a crucial cabinet meeting to decide what to do and whether to put her deal to MPs again.

The UK has until 12 April to either seek a longer extension from the EU or decide to leave without a deal.

The so-called indicative votes on Monday night were not legally binding, so the government would not have been forced to adopt the proposals. But they had been billed as the moment when Parliament might finally compromise.

Mrs May's plan for the UK's departure has been rejected by MPs three times.

As a result of that failure, she was forced to ask the EU to agree to postpone Brexit from the original date of 29 March.

Meanwhile, Parliament took control of the process away from the government in order to hold a series of votes designed to find an alternative way forward.

Last week, eight options were put to MPs, but none was able to command a majority, and on Monday night, a whittled down four were rejected too. They were:

Motion C: Committing the government to negotiating "a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU" as part of any Brexit deal.

Motion D: Referred to as Common Market 2.0, this option would mean joining the European Free Trade Association and European Economic Area.

Motion E: Calling for a confirmatory referendum, giving the public a vote to approve any Brexit deal passed by Parliament before it can be implemented.

Motion G: Aiming to prevent the UK leaving without a deal, including a vote on whether to revoke Article 50 - stopping Brexit altogether - if the EU does not agree to an extension.

Those pushing for a customs union argued that their option was defeated by the narrowest margin, only three votes.

It would see the UK remain in the same system of tariffs - taxes - on goods as the rest of the EU - potentially simplifying the issue of the Northern Ireland border, but preventing the UK from striking independent trade deals with other countries.

Those in favour of another EU referendum pointed out that the motion calling for that option received the most votes in favour, totalling 280.

Following the failure of his own motion, Common Market 2.0, Conservative former minister Nick Boles resigned from the party.

The MP for Grantham and Stamford said he could "no longer sit for this party", adding: "I have done everything I can to find a compromise."

As he left the Commons, MPs were heard shouting, "don't go Nick", while some MPs from other parties applauded him.

He later tweeted that he would remain an MP and sit in the Commons as "an Independent Progressive Conservative".

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the "only option" left now was to find a way forward that allows the UK to leave the EU with a deal - and the only deal available was the prime minister's.

If that could be done this week, he added, the UK could avoid having to take part in elections to the European Parliament in May.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock agreed it was time for Mrs May's deal to be passed.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that while it was "disappointing" that none of the proposals secured a majority, he said he wanted to remind the Commons that Mrs May's deal had been "overwhelmingly rejected".

He urged MPs to hold a third round of indicative votes on Wednesday in the hope that a majority could yet be found for a way forward.

For months, Parliament has been saying "Let us have a say, let us find the way forward," but in the end they couldn't quite do it. Parliament doesn't know what it wants and we still have lots of different tribes and factions who aren't willing to make peace.

That means that by the day, two things are becoming more likely. One, leaving the EU without a deal. And two, a general election, because we're at an impasse.

One person who doesn't think that would be a good idea is former foreign secretary and Brexiteer Boris Johnson.

He told me going to the polls would "solve nothing" and would "just infuriate people". He also said that only somebody who "really believes in Brexit" should be in charge once Theresa May steps down. I wonder who that could be...

Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb told BBC Look East he was "ashamed to be a member of this Parliament" and hit out at MPs in his own party - five of whom voted against a customs union and four of whom voted against Common Market 2.0.

He said the Commons was "playing with fire and will unleash dark forces unless we learn to compromise".

But prominent Brexiteer Steve Baker said he was "glad the House of Commons has concluded nothing".

He said the prime minister must now go back to the EU and persuade them to rewrite the withdrawal deal - something they have so far refused to do - otherwise the choice was between no deal or no Brexit.

'Disbelief'
Senior figures in the EU, though, showed their frustration at the latest moves in Westminster.

European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt tweeted that by voting down all the options, a "hard Brexit becomes nearly inevitable".

BBC Europe editor Kayta Adler said the mood in Brussels was one of disbelief - that the UK still does not seem to know what it wants.

She said EU leaders were also questioning the logic of arguing over things like a customs union or Common Market option at this stage, because right now, the UK has only three options as they see it - no deal, no Brexit or Theresa May's deal - and anything else is a matter for future talks once the UK has actually left.

What next?
Tuesday 2 April: Five-hour cabinet meeting from 0900 BST
Wednesday 3 April: Potentially another round of indicative votes
Thursday 4 April: Theresa May could bring her withdrawal deal back before MPs for a fourth vote
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek/EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47781009
 
Last edited:
Brexit: No-deal more likely but can be avoided - Barnier

A no-deal Brexit is now more likely but can still be avoided, the EU's chief negotiator has said.

On Monday night, MPs voted on four alternatives to the PM's withdrawal deal, but none gained a majority.

Michel Barnier said a long extension to the UK's current 12 April exit date carried "significant risks for the EU" and that a "strong justification would be needed" before the EU would agree.

Theresa May is set for five hours of cabinet talks to tackle the deadlock.

MPs rejected a customs union with the EU by three votes while a motion for another referendum got the most votes in favour, but still lost.

The so-called indicative votes were not legally binding, but they had been billed as the moment when Parliament might finally compromise.

That did not happen, however, and one Tory MP - Nick Boles, who was behind one of the proposals - resigned the whip in frustration.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told MPs that if they wanted to secure a further delay from the EU, the government must be able to put forward a "credible proposition" as to what it would do.

One suggestion has been the possibility of a general election - but former foreign secretary Boris Johnson told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that would likely "infuriate" voters.

Instead, Mr Johnson said he believed a new leader and "change in negotiation tactic" could "retrofit" the PM's "terrible" agreement with the EU.

Labour MP and chairman of the Brexit select committee Hilary Benn told BBC Radio 4's Today that a confirmatory referendum was the best solution.

"A good leader would be taking that decision and put it back to the people," he said.

"[The] fear is that the PM is not going to move an inch. That is why we are at a moment of crisis."

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Barnier said: "No deal was never our desire or intended scenario but the EU 27 is now prepared. It becomes day after day more likely."
Click to expand...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47783127
 
Brexit: No-deal more likely but can be avoided - Barnier

A no-deal Brexit is now more likely but can still be avoided, the EU's chief negotiator has said.

On Monday night, MPs voted on four alternatives to the PM's withdrawal deal, but none gained a majority.

Michel Barnier said a long extension to the UK's current 12 April exit date carried "significant risks for the EU" and that a "strong justification would be needed" before the EU would agree.

Theresa May is set for five hours of cabinet talks to tackle the deadlock.

MPs rejected a customs union with the EU by three votes while a motion for another referendum got the most votes in favour, but still lost.

The so-called indicative votes were not legally binding, but they had been billed as the moment when Parliament might finally compromise.

That did not happen, however, and one Tory MP - Nick Boles, who was behind one of the proposals - resigned the whip in frustration.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told MPs that if they wanted to secure a further delay from the EU, the government must be able to put forward a "credible proposition" as to what it would do.

One suggestion has been the possibility of a general election - but former foreign secretary Boris Johnson told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that would likely "infuriate" voters.

Instead, Mr Johnson said he believed a new leader and "change in negotiation tactic" could "retrofit" the PM's "terrible" agreement with the EU.

Labour MP and chairman of the Brexit select committee Hilary Benn told BBC Radio 4's Today that a confirmatory referendum was the best solution.

"A good leader would be taking that decision and put it back to the people," he said.

"[The] fear is that the PM is not going to move an inch. That is why we are at a moment of crisis."

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Barnier said: "No deal was never our desire or intended scenario but the EU 27 is now prepared. It becomes day after day more likely."

Mrs May's plan for the UK's departure has been rejected by MPs three times.

Last week, Parliament took control of the process away from the government in order to hold a series of votes designed to find an alternative way forward.

Eight options were put to MPs, but none was able to command a majority, and on Monday night, a whittled down four were rejected too. They were:

Motion C: Committing the government to negotiating "a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU" as part of any Brexit deal.

Motion D: Referred to as Common Market 2.0, this option would mean joining the European Free Trade Association and European Economic Area.

Motion E: Calling for a confirmatory referendum, giving the public a vote to approve any Brexit deal passed by Parliament before it can be implemented.

Motion G: Aiming to prevent the UK leaving without a deal, including a vote on whether to revoke Article 50 - stopping Brexit altogether - if the EU does not agree to an extension.

Those pushing for a customs union argued that their option was defeated by the narrowest margin - only three votes.

It would see the UK remain in the same system of tariffs - taxes - on goods as the rest of the EU - potentially simplifying the issue of the Northern Ireland border, but prevent the UK from striking independent trade deals with other countries.

Those in favour of another EU referendum pointed out that the motion calling for that option received the most votes in favour, totalling 280.


Media captionNick Boles: "I have failed, chiefly, because my party refuses to compromise"

Mr Barclay said the "only option" left now was to find a way forward that allows the UK to leave the EU with a deal - and the only deal available was the prime minister's.

If that could be done this week, he added, the UK could avoid having to take part in elections to the European Parliament in May.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock agreed it was time for Mrs May's deal to be passed.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that while it was "disappointing" that none of the proposals secured a majority, he said he wanted to remind the Commons that Mrs May's deal had been "overwhelmingly rejected".

He urged MPs to hold a third round of indicative votes on Wednesday in the hope that a majority could yet be found for a way forward.

For months, Parliament has been saying "Let us have a say, let us find the way forward," but in the end they couldn't quite do it. Parliament doesn't know what it wants and we still have lots of different tribes and factions who aren't willing to make peace.

That means that by the day, two things are becoming more likely. One, leaving the EU without a deal. And two, a general election, because we're at an impasse.

One person who doesn't think that would be a good idea is former foreign secretary and Brexiteer Boris Johnson.

He told me going to the polls would "solve nothing" and would "just infuriate people". He also said that only somebody who "really believes in Brexit" should be in charge once Theresa May steps down. I wonder who that could be...

Hear more from Laura and the gang in Brexitcast.

Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb told BBC Look East he was "ashamed to be a member of this Parliament" and hit out at MPs in his own party - five of whom voted against a customs union and four of whom voted against Common Market 2.0.

BBC Europe editor Katya Adler said the mood in Brussels was one of disbelief - that the UK still does not seem to know what it wants.

She said EU leaders were also questioning the logic of arguing over things like a customs union or Common Market option at this stage, because right now, the UK has only three options as they see it - no deal, no Brexit or Theresa May's deal - and anything else is a matter for future talks once the UK has actually left.

What next?

Tuesday 2 April: Five-hour cabinet meeting from 0900 BST
Wednesday 3 April: Potentially another round of indicative votes
Thursday 4 April: Theresa May could bring her withdrawal deal back before MPs for a fourth vote
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek/EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47783127
 
James said:
Boles may have resigned due to disappointment with his Leave-supporting Conservative colleagues, but in reality Common Market 2.0 (and indeed Clarke’s more general “Customs Union”) both failed directly because of the rabid Remain extremists in the Lib Dems and TIG, supposedly the centrist parties but completely unwilling to compromise on any solution that would not ultimately result in a revocation of Article 50.

Zero progress made once again. Sad times.
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What, all twenty of them? Norman Lamb voted for CU and CM2.0 anyway.

Blame the Tory ultras for this - there are a hundred of them.
 
Robert said:
What, all twenty of them? Norman Lamb voted for CU and CM2.0 anyway.

Blame the Tory ultras for this - there are a hundred of them.
Click to expand...

The lunatic fringe of Remainers (most Lib Dem and all TIG) are adding absolutely nothing to Parliament at the moment. Bleeding useless.
 
James said:
The lunatic fringe of Remainers (most Lib Dem and all TIG) are adding absolutely nothing to Parliament at the moment. Bleeding useless.
Click to expand...

The LDs would have voted for Boles’ CM2.0 had it been combined with 2nd Ref.
 
Robert said:
I will have nothing to do with the far right. They would hurt my BAME family and friends given the chance.
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Sure, but that doesn't mean her criticism of the EU political institution and the economical damage of Brexit towards the EU are incorrect.
 
Robert said:
Hitler got the trains running on time, after all.
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He also pulled Germany out of hyperinflation, helped developed the VW, and made the DM the strongest currency all in within the space of 10 years rid of austerity, and Germany enjoyed the boom years. Not sure what your point is though.

If you actually watch the video, she berates the EU for not listening to David Cameron, and also explained how lack of UK funds would lead to inflation in the EU, and tighten the pockets of many Germans. Of course she is not the only one with the same thinking, Mervyn King said the same thing, former Governor of bank of England - are you saying his view is more credible because he is center right?

This is simple economics, nothing to do with being right-wing or political slant.

If the liberal left actually listen instead of accusing anyone who questions immigration, as a racist, then we wouldn't be in this polarized mess.
 
Technics 1210 said:
He also pulled Germany out of hyperinflation, helped developed the VW, and made the DM the strongest currency all in within the space of 10 years rid of austerity, and Germany enjoyed the boom years. Not sure what your point is though.
Click to expand...

Being the closest thing to Satan incarnate renders all the rest meaningless.
 
Robert said:
Being the closest thing to Satan incarnate renders all the rest meaningless.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't, it just means the liberals have no answer and resort to Godwin's law as a shield.

Anyway, the EU are also right-wing, but you clearly support them.

Sad state of affairs, it's not the opinion that matters, but who says it.

Incredible.
 
Technics 1210 said:
If you actually watch the video, she berates the EU for not listening to David Cameron, and also explained how lack of UK funds would lead to inflation in the EU, and tighten the pockets of many Germans.
Click to expand...

It’s Leave voters doing that to them.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Anyway, the EU are also right-wing, but you clearly support them.
Click to expand...

I do support them. Tusk and Verhovstadt speak for me far more than May and Corbyn. One fought Soviet rule as a member of Solidarity and the other leads the ALDE in the EuroParl.
 
Robert said:
I do support them. Tusk and Verhovstadt speak for me far more than May and Corbyn. One fought Soviet rule as a member of Solidarity and the other leads the ALDE in the EuroParl.
Click to expand...

Tusk, the Grandson of a Nazi.

Soviets? Our allies in WW1 and WW2?

You sure you on the right side?
 
Robert said:
It’s Leave voters doing that to them.
Click to expand...

Leave voters berated Cameron and turned him away?

Let me guess, leave voters are ignorant and racists?

Where was my vote on the Lisbon, Rome, and Maastricht treaties?

EU are trying to overturn a democratic vote, this is dictatorship.
 
A cross-party group of MPs has put forward a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit in 10 days' time.

If passed into law, the bill would require the PM to ask for an extension of Article 50 - which mandates the UK's exit from the EU - beyond the current 12 April deadline.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper presented the bill - which supporters hope they can pass through the Commons in one day.

The cabinet has been meeting in Downing Street since 09:00 BST.

They remain split over the next steps for Brexit and the five-hour meeting has run over into its seventh hour.

The BBC's John Pienaar said Theresa May's cabinet has considered plans to "ramp up" no-deal Brexit preparations and a snap general election had also been discussed.

This bill would make it UK law for the PM to ask for an extension to prevent a no-deal, but it would be up to the EU to grant it - or not.

In March, MPs voted against leaving the EU without a deal, but it was not legally binding.

Meanwhile, the EU's chief negotiator has said a no-deal Brexit is now more likely but can still be avoided.

Michel Barnier said a long extension to the UK's 12 April exit date had "significant risks for the EU" and a "strong justification would be needed".

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar are meeting in Paris to discuss the impact of Brexit.

President Macron told reporters that the EU "cannot be hostage to the political crisis in the UK", and the government must come forward with "credible" reasons for an extension.

He said these could include an election, second referendum, or alternative proposals for the future relationship, such as a customs union.

Mr Varadkar said the UK was "consumed by Brexit", but the EU should not be.

He said the EU "needs to be open" about any proposals the UK brings, including a longer extension, and they will do what they can to "assist".

But he added: "We gave the UK some time, some space and some opportunity to come up with a way forward... [but] as things stand, they will leave on 12 April without a deal."

Tory MP Sir Oliver Letwin, who supports Ms Cooper's bill, said: "This is a last-ditch attempt to prevent our country being exposed to the risks inherent in a no-deal exit.

"We realise this is difficult. But it is definitely worth trying."

Ms Cooper said the UK was "in a very dangerous situation" and MPs "have a responsibility to make sure we don't end up with a catastrophic no deal".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One, she added: "We have been attempting to squeeze into just a couple of days a process that really should have been happening for the last two years - a process of trying to build a consensus around the best way forward.

"It is what the prime minister should be doing. It is the prime minister's responsibility to ensure we don't leave the country less safe."

Normally the government chooses which bills to present to Parliament in order for them to become law.

But - much to the government's disapproval - MPs voted to allow backbenchers to take charge of business in the Commons on Wednesday.

This gives backbenchers the opportunity to table their own bills, such as this one from Yvette Cooper.

A copy of the bill shows that they want to push it through the commons in one day.

As the backbenchers will be in charge, they will also be able to vote to set aside more time on another day, if they need to complete the process or hold further indicative votes.

However, the bill would also have to be agreed by the House of Lords and receive Royal Assent before it became law - which if the Commons agrees it on Wednesday, could happen as soon as Thursday.

Brexiteer Tory Sir Bill Cash said trying to go through these stages in one day made it a "reprehensible procedure".

But Speaker John Bercow said that, while it was "an unusual state of affairs", it was "not as unprecedented as he supposes" - citing recent bills on Northern Ireland that have been passed at the same speed.

In the latest round of indicative votes on Monday, MPs voted on four alternatives to the PM's withdrawal deal, but none gained a majority.

MPs rejected a customs union with the EU by three votes. A motion for another referendum got the most votes in favour, but still lost.

The votes were not legally binding, but they had been billed as the moment when Parliament might finally compromise.

The Independent MP Chris Leslie tweeted that MPs would be seeking more time for indicative votes to take place on Monday.

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb said he is considering resigning the whip after his party refused to back proposals for a customs union and Common Market 2.0 on Monday.

He told BBC News: "If you are seen to be unreasonable, not engaging to find solutions, I don't think it is very attractive to the people."

Earlier, Mr Barnier said: "No deal was never our desire or intended scenario but the EU 27 is now prepared. It becomes day after day more likely."

Last week, Parliament took control of the process away from the government in order to hold a series of votes designed to find an alternative way forward.

Eight options were put to MPs, but none was able to command a majority, and on Monday night, a whittled-down four were rejected too.

What next?
Tuesday 2 April: A five-hour cabinet meeting
Wednesday 3 April: Potentially another round of indicative votes, and Yvette Cooper's bill to be debated
Thursday 4 April: Theresa May could bring her withdrawal deal back to Parliament for a fourth vote, while MPs could also vote on Ms Cooper's bill
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek / EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47789298
 
Technics 1210 said:
Tusk, the Grandson of a Nazi.

Soviets? Our allies in WW1 and WW2?

You sure you on the right side?
Click to expand...

Yes. Tusk fought against Soviet totalitarianism. He put his own life of the line to liberate his people. I wish I had that courage. He is an exemplar to me.


Technics 1210 said:
Leave voters berated Cameron and turned him away?

Let me guess, leave voters are ignorant and racists?

Where was my vote on the Lisbon, Rome, and Maastricht treaties?

EU are trying to overturn a democratic vote, this is dictatorship.
Click to expand...

We already have the sweetest deal in the EU. Cameron was merely trying to get his Eurosceptics to shut up.

As oft-repeated, not all Leavers are racist, but all racists are Leavers. The Referendum revealed a dreadful ignorance in the people of Britain, myself included.

I suspect you were too young to vote on entry to the Common Market if that is what you mean by Treaty of Rome. Yes, Major should have given us a vote on Maastricht. Yes, Brown should have given us a vote on Treaty of Lisbon.
 
Robert said:
I suspect you were too young to vote on entry to the Common Market if that is what you mean by Treaty of Rome. Yes, Major should have given us a vote on Maastricht. Yes, Brown should have given us a vote on Treaty of Lisbon.
Click to expand...

Don't you realize? The 73 vote was to join the EEC, not the EU.

The people were never given a vote to join the EU, this is considered democratic, but when the people are given the vote to remain or leave; we should have another referendum because the establishment do not like the result!

The EU is not a democratic institution. Ask the French, who voted twice against the EU, but their vote was ignored. ask the Irish who were forced twice for the desired result. Ask the Greeks! The list goes on.

Let me remind you of a quote from the father of the EU, Jean Monnet.

Europe’s nations should be guided towards the superstate without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps, each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.
Click to expand...

The intentions of the EU are clear. If you think we have the best deal, then God help you mate. 90% of the Globe trade on WTOs. Remind me how the Single Market has benefited Germany, Italy, and France right now? Why are said nations heading towards recession? How comes the youth of the EU are experiencing near 40% unemployment? Why should our immigration policy favour Europeans and not the Commonwealth? Don't tell me it's law, I want to know the thinking behind such ludicrousness! But no, Tusk being the grandchild of a Nazi is ok because he fought the Soviets!

People are afraid of change, I get that, but no pain no gain.
 
Last edited:
Theresa May to ask EU for further extension

Theresa May will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline to "break the logjam" in Parliament.

The PM says she wants to meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to agree a plan on the future relationship with the EU.

But she insisted her withdrawal agreement - which was voted down last week - would remain part of the deal.

Mrs May said she wanted the extension to be "as short as possible" - before 22 May so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

The UK has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU, or it will leave without a deal.
Click to expand...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47794235
 
Democracy died in the UK on the 29th March 23:00

How dare the UK ever claim they are a democratic nation henceforth.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Don't you realize? The 73 vote was to join the EEC, not the EU.
Click to expand...

You raised the issue of Treaty of Rome, which we had a vote on, or would have done if we were old enough, and I replied that we should have had a vote on Maastricht and Lisbon, which was the fault of our own government and not the EU.

The people were never given a vote to join the EU, this is considered democratic, but when the people are given the vote to remain or leave; we should have another referendum because the establishment do not like the result!
Click to expand...

Depends which member of the “establishment” you ask.

The EU is not a democratic institution. Ask the French, who voted twice against the EU, but their vote was ignored. ask the Irish who were forced twice for the desired result. Ask the Greeks! The list goes on.
Click to expand...

Denied by their own governments, not the EU.


The intentions of the EU are clear. If you think we have the best deal, then God help you mate.
Click to expand...

Got Sterling, not in Schengen, got the veto. Best deal of any EU nation.

90% of the Globe trade on WTOs.
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I doubt it, most are in some trade bloc or another. What’s your point here?

Remind me how the Single Market has benefited Germany, Italy, and France right now? Why are said nations heading towards recession? How comes the youth of the EU are experiencing near 40% unemployment?
Click to expand...

Don’t know, not my concern, ask them.

Why should our immigration policy favour Europeans and not the Commonwealth? Don't tell me it's law, I want to know the thinking behind such ludicrousness!
Click to expand...

Because we are in a trade bloc called the EU not one called the Commonwealth.

Even the Commonwealth is not a trade bloc - Canada is in NAFTA and has a EU trade deal, Australia and NZ have FTA deals with AFTA, West African states have ECOWAS.

But no, Tusk being the grandchild of a Nazi is ok because he fought the Soviets!
Click to expand...

We are not responsible for wrongdoing committed by our ancestors, we are responsible for our own actions alone, and Tusk helped liberate the Poles from totalitarianism so he is a hero to me.
 
Robert said:
You raised the issue of Treaty of Rome, which we had a vote on, or would have done if we were old enough, and I replied that we should have had a vote on Maastricht and Lisbon, which was the fault of our own government and not the EU.
Click to expand...

The British public had a vote on treaty of Rome? When?


Robert said:
Got Sterling, not in Schengen, got the veto. Best deal of any EU nation.
Click to expand...

China is booming, India is booming, UK cannot establish trade with these economies. Best deal eh?

Got the veto? How did that work out when NATO decided to bomb Syria?


Robert said:
I doubt it, most are in some trade bloc or another. What’s your point here?
Click to expand...

The point? That there is a larger and more powerful economy OUTSIDE the single market. Rest of the world is generating an economy while the Single Market is falling into recession. All our eggs in one basket with the folks who tried to destroy us, twice. Great logic!


Robert said:
Don’t know, not my concern, ask them.
Click to expand...

Cop-out. Single Market has not benefited the core of Europe. Face the facts, but deep down I am guessing you know this and will not entertain this point as it would undermine your point on the benefits of the Single Market. It's ok, you are not the first.

Robert said:
Because we are in a trade bloc called the EU not one called the Commonwealth.
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No, this is not what I asked you. We also trade with the Commonwealth, why not have free movement with the commonwealth? See how flimsy your argument is?

Robert said:
Even the Commonwealth is not a trade bloc - Canada is in NAFTA and has a EU trade deal, Australia and NZ have FTA deals with AFTA, West African states have ECOWAS.
Click to expand...

Actually, the commonwealth is a trading bloc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_free_trade

Just remember :

Europe’s nations should be guided towards the superstate without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps, each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.
Click to expand...

Peace out.
 
Technics 1210 said:
The British public had a vote on treaty of Rome? When?
Click to expand...

1973 as I recall - the referendum to join the EEC was in effect to accept the Treaty of Rome.

China is booming, India is booming, UK cannot establish trade with these economies. Best deal eh?
Click to expand...

Best deal within the EU.

Got the veto? How did that work out when NATO decided to bomb Syria?
Click to expand...

NATO is not the EU.

The point? That there is a larger and more powerful economy OUTSIDE the single market. Rest of the world is generating an economy while the Single Market is falling into recession. All our eggs in one basket with the folks who tried to destroy us, twice. Great logic!
Click to expand...

But UK alone is very small. Outside the EU we will end up as the 51st state of Amreeka.

In any event the EU is signing more and more trade deals that we would benefit from so our market is growing thanks to EU negotiators.

Cop-out. Single Market has not benefited the core of Europe. Face the facts, but deep down I am guessing you know this and will not entertain this point as it would undermine your point on the benefits of the Single Market. It's ok, you are not the first.
Click to expand...

Actually I never gave it any thought at all. I only really care about what the SM does for the people of the UK.

No, this is not what I asked you. We also trade with the Commonwealth, why not have free movement with the commonwealth? See how flimsy your argument is?
Click to expand...

I don’t think I am arguing anything here - I am sure we could have free movement with Commonwealth nations if we want. I’m not really bothered.


Actually, the commonwealth is a trading bloc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_free_trade
.
Click to expand...

OK.
 
Theresa May is expected to meet Jeremy Corbyn later after she said she wanted to work with the Labour leader to break the Brexit deadlock.

The prime minister hopes she and Mr Corbyn can come up with a modified version of her withdrawal deal with the EU that can secure the backing of MPs.

Mr Corbyn says he wants a customs union and workers' rights to be priorities.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs will attempt to push through legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Mrs May announced her plan to meet Mr Corbyn - as well as her intention to ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline - after more than seven hours of talks with her cabinet on Tuesday.

The move angered Brexiteers in her party, including former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who accused her of "entrusting the final handling of Brexit to Labour".

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says it means the prime minister is likely to adopt a closer relationship with the EU - a softer Brexit - than she has agreed so far.

The UK was supposed to leave the EU on 29 March, but Mrs May agreed a short extension after MPs refused to endorse her withdrawal deal.

Attempts by MPs to find an alternative way out of the impasse also failed for the second time this week.

The UK now has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU - which must be accepted by the bloc - or it will leave without a deal on that date.

Mrs May said she wanted to agree a new plan with Mr Corbyn and put it to a vote in the Commons before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

If the two leaders do not agree a single way forward, Mrs May said a number of options would be put to MPs "to determine which course to pursue".

In either event, she said she would ask the EU for a further short extension to the Brexit date to hopefully get an agreement passed by Parliament before 22 May so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

The final decision on a delay rests with the EU. The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler said that while Brussels "welcomed" discussions between the PM and Mr Corbyn, its demands had not changed and it was "likely to put strict conditions on any further extension".

Mr Corbyn said he was "very happy" to meet Mrs May and recognised his own "responsibility" to try to break the deadlock.

Labour has previously said it has six tests for judging any final Brexit deal, including protecting workers' rights, establishing a permanent customs union with the EU and securing the same benefits of being in the single market the UK has currently.

She was for budging. The prime minister has made her priority leaving the EU with a deal, rather than the happy contentment of the Brexiteers in the Tory party.

For so long, Theresa May has been derided by her rivals, inside and outside, for cleaving to the idea that she can get the country and her party through this process intact.

But after her deal was defeated at the hands of Eurosceptics, in the words of one cabinet minister in the room during that marathon session today, she tried delivering Brexit with Tory votes - Tory Brexiteers said "No".

Now she's going to try to deliver Brexit with Labour votes. In a way, it is as simple as that.

The offer of talks with the Labour leader provoked a backlash among Brexiteers, with Boris Johnson saying Brexit was "becoming soft to the point of disintegration".

Jacob Rees-Moss added: "To decide you'd rather be supported by a Marxist than by your own party is unwise."

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party - which helps prop up Mrs May's government but has repeatedly voted against her deal - said: "It remains to be seen if sub-contracting out the future of Brexit to Jeremy Corbyn, someone whom the Conservatives have demonised for four years, will end happily."

However, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, himself a leading Brexiteer, said he backed the talks with Labour because he "wanted to ensure that minds are concentrated so that we do leave".

After Mrs May's statement, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called for patience.

European leaders have been intensifying plans to cope with a possible no-deal, particularly surrounding the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Meanwhile, backbench MPs have tabled a bill to try to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 12 April.

If passed into law, the bill - presented by Labour MP Yvette Cooper - would require the PM to ask for an extension of Article 50 beyond that deadline.

Normally, the government chooses which bills to present to Parliament, but MPs previously voted to allow backbenchers to take charge of business in the Commons on Wednesday, meaning Ms Cooper can bring hers.

Wednesday 3 April: Theresa May likely to begin talks with Jeremy Corbyn; cross-party group attempts to rule out no-deal in law
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek / EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47796377
 
Theresa May is expected to meet Jeremy Corbyn later after she said she wanted to work with the Labour leader to break the Brexit deadlock.

The prime minister hopes the two of them can come up with a modified version of her withdrawal deal with the EU that can secure the backing of MPs.

Mr Corbyn says he wants a customs union and workers' rights to be priorities.

But Tory Brexiteer Boris Johnson has accused Mrs May of "entrusting the final handling of Brexit to Labour".

Jacob Rees-Mogg, another prominent Brexiteer, described the offer as "deeply unsatisfactory" and accused Mrs May of planning to collaborate with "a known Marxist".

ADVERTISEMENT

Mrs May announced her plan to meet Mr Corbyn - as well as her intention to ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline - after more than seven hours of talks with her cabinet on Tuesday.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says the latest move means the prime minister is likely to adopt a closer relationship with the EU - a softer Brexit - than she has agreed so far.

European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt, who had said he thought a no-deal Brexit was "nearly inevitable", welcomed Mrs May's offer of talks with Mr Corbyn.

"Good that PM Theresa may is looking for a cross-party compromise. Better late than never," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs will attempt to push through legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47796377
 
Robert said:
1973 as I recall - the referendum to join the EEC was in effect to accept the Treaty of Rome.
Click to expand...

Not the same mate. A referendum to join the EU - on the treaty of Rome, was not granted to the people of the UK. You may as well argue that we held a referendum in 73 to join the EU.


Robert said:
But UK alone is very small. Outside the EU we will end up as the 51st state of Amreeka.
Click to expand...

5th largest economy in the world isn't small. Not the size but the performance matters.


Robert said:
In any event the EU is signing more and more trade deals that we would benefit from so our market is growing thanks to EU negotiators.
Click to expand...

Take domestic agricultural produce. Produce is exported to the EU, then imported! Why not sell directly to British? EU rules forbid it. Our markets, or rather the access to markets, is capped no thanks to EU regulations.

The world is flourishing in terms of the economy on WTO. Look at Norway, they have not signed up the the EU, but their economy and finances are the best in Europe. Do you know why? Norway can make it's own trade deals.


Robert said:
Actually I never gave it any thought at all. I only really care about what the SM does for the people of the UK.
Click to expand...

The main thrust of SM is that it is great for the economy. Clearly it is not.


Robert said:
I don’t think I am arguing anything here - I am sure we could have free movement with Commonwealth nations if we want. I’m not really bothered.
Click to expand...

I think you should be bothered. A fair and uniform immigration policy is the way forwards. There was a time when immigrants were allowed to freely enter the UK from colonies, but this freedom of movement was stopped with the Immigration Act 1971.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After much contemplation, I have decided to leave Theresa May's Government. I'm grateful to the PM for giving me the opportunity to serve the UK and I will continue to represent my constituents as the MP for Daventry. <a href="https://t.co/sHkVhwJ7bb">pic.twitter.com/sHkVhwJ7bb</a></p>— Chris Heaton-Harris (@chhcalling) <a href="https://twitter.com/chhcalling/status/1113456229232381953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Theresa May has responded to criticism from her own MPs over talks with Jeremy Corbyn by saying all MPs have a responsibility to deliver Brexit.

The PM said the public "expect us to reach across this House to find a way through this".

Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the PM's "willingness to compromise to resolve the Brexit deadlock".

The PM's move to hold talks has angered some Brexiteers, with two ministers resigning over it.

Chris Heaton-Harris became the latest to quit on Wednesday afternoon, claiming his job at the Department for Exiting the European Union had become "irrelevant" if the government is not prepared to leave without a deal.

Wales Minister Nigel Adams also resigned his role on Wednesday morning, saying the government was at risk of failing to deliver "the Brexit people voted for".

The PM is meeting Mr Corbyn before holding talks with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford.

Ms Sturgeon - who met the Labour leader earlier - called for a long extension to work out the way forward and a public vote on any deal.

She tweeted that her meeting with Mr Corbyn had been "positive", adding that she would be "surprised and very disappointed if Labour sold out".

Mr Drakeford has said he wants to argue for a closer long-term economic relationship with the EU.

The UK has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU - which must be accepted by the bloc - or it will leave without a deal on that date.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the PM announced she wanted to meet Mr Corbyn to agree a way forward and put the plan to a vote in the Commons before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

She insisted her withdrawal agreement - which was voted down last week - would remain part of the deal.

If there is no agreement between the two leaders, Mrs May said a number of options would be put to MPs "to determine which course to pursue".

In either event, Mrs May said she would ask the EU for a further short extension to hopefully get an agreement passed by Parliament before 22 May, so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47796377
 
Why are Tory backbenchers whining about May negotiating Brexit with Corbyn when they rejected THREE times their leader's deal ?
 
Markhor said:
Why are Tory backbenchers whining about May negotiating Brexit with Corbyn when they rejected THREE times their leader's deal ?
Click to expand...

I am guessing it has something to do with the backstop which the UK cannot exit unilaterally, more importantly to do with the fact that UK is forbidden to set business/corp rates less than that of the EU as outlined in May's withdrawel deal. Doesn't sound like taking back control, but rather remaining subservient to the EU. This is what to expect when we have a Remain PM and Olly Robins a remainers - negotiating a deal.

Saying this, May should have embarked on cross party talks 2 years ago.
 
Technics 1210 said:
I am guessing it has something to do with the backstop which the UK cannot exit unilaterally, more importantly to do with the fact that UK is forbidden to set business/corp rates less than that of the EU as outlined in May's withdrawel deal. Doesn't sound like taking back control, but rather remaining subservient to the EU. This is what to expect when we have a Remain PM and Olly Robins a remainers - negotiating a deal.

Saying this, May should have embarked on cross party talks 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

The moment May took office, she should've held cross party talks, held indicative votes THEN to see what majority could be formed in Parliament and developed a set of clear and realistic negotiating goals BEFORE triggering Article 50.

Instead she promised the world to everyone (Lancaster House speech) before a series of humiliating u-turns, and had to be dragged by the courts to even allow for a meaningful vote.
 
Markhor said:
The moment May took office, she should've held cross party talks, held indicative votes THEN to see what majority could be formed in Parliament and developed a set of clear and realistic negotiating goals BEFORE triggering Article 50.

Instead she promised the world to everyone (Lancaster House speech) before a series of humiliating u-turns, and had to be dragged by the courts to even allow for a meaningful vote.
Click to expand...

100% agree.

She must still be crying over the 2017 GE result.

Utter humiliation, simply one of the worst PMs in history.
 
UK has become a laughing stock for the world because of this Brexit business.
 
Technics 1210 said:
China is booming, India is booming, UK cannot establish trade with these economies. Best deal eh?

That there is a larger and more powerful economy OUTSIDE the single market. Rest of the world is generating an economy while the Single Market is falling into recession. All our eggs in one basket with the folks who tried to destroy us, twice. Great logic!
Click to expand...

Brexiteers keep repeating this line that outside the EU we'll be a "global Britain" but two thirds of our exports are either to the EU or countries where the EU has a preferential trade deal. We already have trade deals with Turkey, Israel, Morocco, South Korea, South Africa, Chile, Mexico, Canada and Japan by extension of our membership of the EU.

Forget creating new deals, just replicating the 60+ existing arrangements we have through the EU will take years, and we'll be doing so with less negotiating leverage than we had in a SM of 500M people. How many of our existing trade deals has Liam Fox managed to roll over ? He promised that we'd have 40 FTAs ready by March 2019 - what happened ?

As for trading with India. How will India's demands for visa liberalisation square with slashing migration as Brexiteers also demand ? Non-EU migration far outweighs EU migration to the UK.
 
Markhor said:
Brexiteers keep repeating this line that outside the EU we'll be a "global Britain" but two thirds of our exports are either to the EU or countries where the EU has a preferential trade deal. We already have trade deals with Turkey, Israel, Morocco, South Korea, South Africa, Chile, Mexico, Canada and Japan by extension of our membership of the EU.

Forget creating new deals, just replicating the 60+ existing arrangements we have through the EU will take years, and we'll be doing so with less negotiating leverage than we had in a SM of 500M people. How many of our existing trade deals has Liam Fox managed to roll over ? He promised that we'd have 40 FTAs ready by March 2019 - what happened ?

As for trading with India. How will India's demands for visa liberalisation square with slashing migration as Brexiteers also demand ? Non-EU migration far outweighs EU migration to the UK.
Click to expand...

Er it is obvious, while UK is a member of the Customs Unions, it is forbidden from creating new FTAs.

This is not a question of time, but a question of opportunity. WTO seems to work for other nations, it can work for the UK too.
 
Brexit: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn hold 'constructive' talks

Talks between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn to break the Brexit deadlock have been called "constructive".

The two leaders met on Wednesday afternoon and agreed a "programme of work" to try to find a way forward to put to MPs for a vote.

It is understood that each party has appointed a negotiating team, which will meet later tonight before a full day of discussions on Thursday.

A spokesman for No 10 said both sides were "showing flexibility".

And he added that the two parties gave "a commitment to bring the current Brexit uncertainty to a close".

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Corbyn said there had not been "as much change as [he]
had expected" in the PM's position.

He said the meeting was "useful, but inconclusive", and talks would continue.

This evening, MPs are debating legislation which would require Mrs May to seek an extension to Article 50 and give the Commons the power to approve or amend whatever was agreed.

The bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle by 315 to 310 votes, with further stages set to continue until at least 22.00 BST.

Supporters of the bill, tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper, are trying to fast-track the bill through the Commons in the space of five hours, in a move which has angered Tory Brexiteers.

Mr Corbyn said he raised a number of issues with Mrs May, including future customs arrangements, trade agreements and the option of giving the public the final say over the deal in another referendum.

The Labour leader is coming under pressure from senior colleagues to make a referendum a condition of signing up to any agreement.

Demanding the shadow cabinet hold a vote on the issue, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said not backing a confirmatory vote would be a "breach" of the policy agreed by party members at its last conference.
The UK has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU - which must be accepted by the bloc - or it will leave without a deal on that date.

The PM proposed the talks in a statement on Tuesday night. She wants to agree a policy with the Labour leader for MPs to vote on before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

If there is no agreement between the two leaders, Mrs May said a number of options would be put to MPs "to determine which course to pursue".

In either event, Mrs May said she would ask the EU for a further short extension to hopefully get an agreement passed by Parliament before 22 May, so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47807622
 
Markhor said:
Still more relevant on the world stage than Canada.
Click to expand...

Are you even serious?

Most Brits think the world revolves around them so they think they are even somewhat relevant in the world :maqsood



Canada wipes the floor with the UK, on its day off.

Most livable cities in the world:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-most-liveable-cities-2018/index.html

Canada has three in top 10.


Happiness index:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report

Canada at 7, UK at 19




https://media.beam.usnews.com/55/57...0116-best-countries-overall-rankings-2019.pdf

Canada at 3rd, UK at 5th


Scientific output per capita

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeau...top_40_countries_by_the_number_of_scientific/


International innovation index

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Innovation_Index

I can go on and on... literally Canada beats the tiny rainy island in every single aspect :inti
 
Technics 1210 said:
Er it is obvious, while UK is a member of the Customs Unions, it is forbidden from creating new FTAs.

This is not a question of time, but a question of opportunity. WTO seems to work for other nations, it can work for the UK too.
Click to expand...
In 2017:
"We're going to replicate the 40 EU free trade agreements that exist before we leave the European Union so we've got no disruption of trade," Fox told a Conservative party fringe event in Manchester.

"I hear people saying 'oh we won't have any [free trade agreements] before we leave'. Well believe me we'll have up to 40 ready for one second after midnight in March 2019," he told cheering Tory activists.
Click to expand...
Last month:
The government’s push to roll over EU trade deals from which the UK currently benefits has yielded agreements covering only £16bn of the near-£117bn of British trade with the countries involved.

Despite frenetic efforts by ministers to ensure the continuity of international trade after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March, the international trade secretary, Liam Fox, has so far only managed to secure deals with seven of the 69 countries that the UK currently trades with under preferential EU free trade agreements, which will end after Brexit.

Brexit minister plays down prospect of article 50 extension

Fox’s department has yet to sign agreements with several major UK trading partners – including Canada, Japan, South Korea and Turkey.
Click to expand...

As for trading on WTO terms - if we leave the EU with no deal we'd be the only developed country to trade with them on WTO terms. Why do you think Canada negotiated a trade deal with the EU on top of their WTO commitments ?

One of the reasons is arbitration through WTO is slow. Neither do they address non tariff barriers. WTO is not a safety blanket as described by some Leavers.
 
Technics 1210 said:
90% of the Globe trade on WTOs.
Click to expand...

Even if countries are not in comprehensive free trade agreements, almost all have bilateral agreements with each other on top of their WTO relationship !

The EU doesn't have an FTA with the US but they don't trade on WTO terms. They have over a hundred sectoral agreements ranging from insurance to airlines that goes way beyond WTO.

Again, WTO is not a safety blanket ! The pro-WTO Brexiteers want free, frictionless trade yet are asking for something (no-deal) that results in anything but.
 
MPs have voted by a majority of one to force the prime minister to ask for an extension to the Brexit process, in a bid to avoid any no-deal scenario.

Labour's Yvette Cooper led the move, which the Commons passed in one day.

The bill will need Lords approval to become law, while it is the EU who decides whether to grant an extension.

It comes as talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to end the Brexit deadlock are set to continue.

Discussions between the two leaders on Wednesday were described as "constructive", but were criticised by MPs in both parties.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Philip Hammond has suggested that he expects Brussels to insist on a lengthy delay to Brexit and described a public vote to approve any final deal as "a perfectly credible proposition".

'Constitutional outrage'
Ms Cooper's attempts to prevent a no-deal departure from the EU passed by 313 votes to 312.

The draft legislation by the former Labour minister would force the prime minister to ask the EU for an extension to the Article 50 process beyond 12 April and would give Parliament the power to decide the length of this delay.

Tory Brexiteers expressed frustration at the unusual process of a backbench bill - the first stage of enacting a law - clearing all stages in the Commons in a matter of hours, rather than months.

Mark Francois said: "It's difficult to argue that you've had an extremely considered debate when you've rammed the bill through the House of Commons in barely four hours. That is not a considered debate, that is a constitutional outrage."

The government's attempt to limit the bill's powers resulted in a 180-vote defeat - the second biggest defeat for a government in modern times.

Responding to the Commons vote, the government said the bill would place a "severe constraint" on its ability to negotiate an extension to the Brexit deadline before 12 April, the date the UK is due to exit.

The draft legislation will next be considered in the Lords as early as Thursday.

It comes as talks between government negotiators and Labour are set to continue throughout Thursday after Mrs May and Mr Corbyn agreed a "programme of work".

A No 10 spokesman said on Wednesday that both parties showed "flexibility" and "a commitment to bring the... uncertainty to a close".

Mr Corbyn said the meeting was "useful, but inconclusive", adding there had not been "as much change as [he] had expected" in the PM's position.

The prime minister wants to agree a policy with the Labour leader for MPs to vote on before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

But if they cannot reach a consensus, she has pledged to allow MPs to vote on a number of options, including the deal she has negotiated with the EU, which has already been rejected twice by MPs.

In either event, Mrs May said she would ask the EU for a further short extension to Brexit in the hope of getting an agreement passed by Parliament before 22 May, so that the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

Media captionCorbyn: May meeting "useful but inconclusive"
The cross-party talks have provoked strong criticism from MPs in both parties, with two ministers resigning on Wednesday.

Chris Heaton-Harris quit on Wednesday afternoon, claiming his job at the Department for Exiting the European Union had become "irrelevant" if the government is not prepared to leave without a deal.

Wales Minister Nigel Adams also resigned, saying the government was at risk of failing to deliver "the Brexit people voted for".

Reports in papers including the Sun suggest as many as 15 more - including several cabinet ministers - could follow if Mrs May strayed too far from previous commitments.

Among her "red lines" was leaving the EU's customs union, which allows goods to move between member states without undergoing checks or being subject to tariff payments.

Labour wants a new permanent customs union with the EU, while Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party - which has propped up Mrs May's government - indicated on Wednesday that it could support the idea.

In an interview on ITV's Peston programme, Mr Hammond said that - while the Conservative manifesto had pledged to leave the EU customs union - "some kind of customs arrangement" was always going to be part of the future structure.

Asked about a public vote to confirm approval of the final Brexit deal, Mr Hammond said: "Many people will disagree with it. I'm not sure there's a majority in Parliament for it, but it's a perfectly credible proposition and it deserves to be tested in Parliament."

Second referendum
Mr Corbyn is coming under pressure from senior colleagues in his party to make a further referendum a condition of signing up to any agreement.

Demanding the shadow cabinet hold a vote on the issue, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said not backing a confirmatory vote would be a "breach" of the policy agreed by party members at its last conference.

The party's deputy leader, Tom Watson, told Peston that Labour members would "find it unforgiveable" for "us to sign off on Theresa May's deal without a concession that involves the people".

However, party chairman Ian Lavery is reported to have warned against the idea, arguing that it could split the party.

European leaders will continue deciding how to respond to Brexit, with Ireland's prime minister, Leo Varadkar, hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin later.

The UK has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU - which must be accepted by the bloc - or it will leave without a deal on that date.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47809717
 
Markhor said:
Even if countries are not in comprehensive free trade agreements, almost all have bilateral agreements with each other on top of their WTO relationship !

The EU doesn't have an FTA with the US but they don't trade on WTO terms. They have over a hundred sectoral agreements ranging from insurance to airlines that goes way beyond WTO.

Again, WTO is not a safety blanket ! The pro-WTO Brexiteers want free, frictionless trade yet are asking for something (no-deal) that results in anything but.
Click to expand...

Yep. They want out of an organisation of ‘unelected bureaucrats’ and into another.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Not the same mate. A referendum to join the EU - on the treaty of Rome, was not granted to the people of the UK. You may as well argue that we held a referendum in 73 to join the EU.
Click to expand...

We had a vote to accept a Treaty of Rome, the basis of the EEC. Or our fathers did. I said we should have had a vote to accept Maastricht basis of EU) and Lisbon ( further development if EU).



5th largest economy in the world isn't small. Not the size but the performance matters.
Click to expand...

Sixth now, soon to be seventh as the Indian economy gears up. We will slide down and down after leaving. The big boys are USA, EU and China, all five or six times our GDP. We are small fry.

Take domestic agricultural produce. Produce is exported to the EU, then imported! Why not sell directly to British? EU rules forbid it. Our markets, or rather the access to markets, is capped no thanks to EU regulations.
Click to expand...

This is not what happens. Talk to some farmers and fishers - their produce goes straight to the supermarkets, though the fishers export to the EU. They will be going out of business soon, sadly.


The world is flourishing in terms of the economy on WTO. Look at Norway, they have not signed up the the EU, but their economy and finances are the best in Europe. Do you know why? Norway can make it's own trade deals.
Click to expand...

Norway are in the Single Market and Schengen. Their economy is based in sales of hydrocarbons from their oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Also they generate massive cheap HEP off their fjords. They are also rule takers in Europe which they do not like, but chose to stay in EEA/EFTA.


I think you should be bothered. A fair and uniform immigration policy is the way forwards. There was a time when immigrants were allowed to freely enter the UK from colonies, but this freedom of movement was stopped with the Immigration Act 1971.
Click to expand...

Ideally we should have a points based system to attract immigrants with specific skills from wherever, so I take your point.

One thing I note with irony - if Leavers want us to trade with the Commonwealth again they will see plenty more brown and black faces and some of them will not like that at all.
 
Robert said:
Sixth now, soon to be seventh as the Indian economy gears up. We will slide down and down after leaving. The big boys are USA, EU and China, all five or six times our GDP. We are small fry.
Click to expand...

We are sliding down because the economy in Europe is sliding down! We are sending 44% of our exports to a single market which is struggling. Who is buying our goods in the SM/EZ? The youth who are unemployed? The Greeks who have had their saving savaged by the EU? The Italians, French, Germans - who a teetering on rescission? Eastern Europe?



Robert said:
This is not what happens. Talk to some farmers and fishers - their produce goes straight to the supermarkets, though the fishers export to the EU. They will be going out of business soon, sadly.
Click to expand...

Not all their products go straight to the supermarkets! The fishing waters are also shared European fishermen,.

Robert said:
Norway are in the Single Market and Schengen. Their economy is based in sales of hydrocarbons from their oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Also they generate massive cheap HEP off their fjords. They are also rule takers in Europe which they do not like, but chose to stay in EEA/EFTA.
Click to expand...

Not the point. The point is Norway is allowed to establish trade deals with other nations with no limits because Norway is not a member of the EU. Hence why Norway chose to stay in the EEA. The EEA – what Britain voted for in 73.

Robert said:
One thing I note with irony - if Leavers want us to trade with the Commonwealth again they will see plenty more brown and black faces and some of them will not like that at all.
Click to expand...

Well if we are to believe Remain claims, then Leavers voted because they saw many white European faces. It’s not about the colour of immigrants, it’s about having control on the rate of immigration.
 
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