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Post by Admin on Jan 16, 2019 17:44:04 GMT
Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal has been rejected by 230 votes - the largest defeat for a sitting government in history. MPs voted by 432 votes to 202 to reject the deal, which sets out the terms of Britain's exit from the EU on 29 March. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has now tabled a vote of no confidence in the government, which could trigger a general election. The confidence vote is expected to be held at about 1900 GMT on Wednesday. The defeat is a huge blow for Mrs May, who has spent more than two years hammering out a deal with the EU.
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Post by Admin on Jan 20, 2019 17:33:35 GMT
We're hosting a special #BrexitCrisis programme at 7pm live from Leeds. We'll be hearing from an invited audience of local voters, definitely no MPs, and we'll reveal the results of a Sky data poll on some of the key issues facing the country. The U.K. government estimates that it could take more than a year to organize a second Brexit referendum, according a Cabinet Office paper seen by POLITICO. The existence of the document, shared with parliamentarians in meetings with ministers this week, suggests that the government has considered the practicalities of holding a second vote. Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly said she would not countenance such a route out of the political deadlock over Brexit. Officials predict that the time required for drafting of a new parliamentary bill; the passage of the legislation; the testing of the ballot paper question by elections regulator the Electoral Commission; the designation of the official campaigns and finally a 10-week campaign period could mean that a fresh vote, could not be held before early 2020. The document was shown to party leaders including the Liberal Democrats' Vince Cable and Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts in meetings this week, which followed May's invitation to senior parliamentarians to meet her to discuss options for a way forward on Brexit that could command a majority in the House of Commons.
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Post by Admin on Feb 5, 2019 17:45:34 GMT
After saying “there is no deal available that does not include the backstop”, Theresa May has now proposed “reopening" the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. This is despite previously stating that “the EU made clear that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be opened”.
The prime minister has said the "potential indefinite nature" of the backstop is what she will look to address with the EU.
Theresa May, speaking to business leaders in Belfast, said Parliament wanted "changes to the backstop as it currently exists". She added that there were a "number of ways" to amend the backstop.
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Post by Admin on Mar 16, 2019 17:44:58 GMT
1 Is May’s deal now dead? No. It may have suffered two crushing defeats at the hands of MPs (the first was by a margin of 230 in January) but the prime minister refuses to give up on it. She will have another go at forcing it through parliament on Tuesday after more talks this weekend and Monday with the 10 DUP MPs and the Eurosceptics in her own party. Even if she fails a third time, she could try for fourth time lucky in the days immediately before the UK is due to leave on 29 March.
2 Has a no-deal Brexit been ruled out? It is now much less likely, but it could still happen. Confusingly, MPs voted to rule out a no-deal Brexit on Wednesday by 321 votes to 278, but this was merely advisory and not a binding vote. It was MPs saying what they did not want to happen – not what they could stop happening. To avoid no-deal on29 March, we either have to agree a deal before then, or agree with the EU the terms for an extension to our membership. If parliament cannot agree a deal, and the EU refuses to permit an extension beyond 29 March on terms that are acceptable to the government and parliament, we will crash out. Even if we get an extension, no-deal could happen later if we still fail to agree what we want by the revised date for leaving.
3 Will Brexit definitely be delayed? Not definitely but probably. Parliament voted to request an extension to article 50 of at least three months on Thursday evening by 413 votes to 211. But again this was not binding. To delay Brexit, the 27 EU member states have to agree unanimously to allow us do so, as well as how long the delay should be for and for what purpose. Then changes would have to be made to the UK’s EU withdrawal bill, which set 29 March as Brexit day. If May’s deal passes, she has said she will ask the EU for a short extension to 30 June to tie up legislative loose ends. But if her deal is rejected, she says, they are likely to insist that any delay be far longer – perhaps up to two years – so the UK can decide what it wants once and for all. This will be difficult for MPs and many in the country who voted Leave to accept.
4 Could any member state veto an extension? In theory, any EU member state could veto an extension of Brexit talks. In practice, this is unlikely, despite appeals to foreign governments by Nigel Farage and other Brexiters. Although Italy, Poland and Hungary have an appetite for public confrontation with Brussels, they have much to lose from a no-deal Brexit and in the privacy of EU meetings have hardly wavered from the common line. While French president Emmanuel Macron talks tough in public, French officials in Brussels have sounded more flexible, resisting attempts by the commission to put too many conditions on a Brexit extension. The big unknown in all this, however, is that EU leaders have never discussed the question and sometimes take a more stringent line than their officials.
5 Could there still be a second referendum? Yes. Although MPs rejected an amendment calling for one on Thursday, by 334 to 85, Labour whipped its MPs to abstain, and said it was waiting to throw its full support behind a second referendum until a later date, perhaps this week. Supporters of a second referendum say that if May cannot get her deal through by any other means, she could do so by backing another amendment. This one, to be put forward by the Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, would allow her Brexit deal to pass on condition that a “confirmatory” referendum be held, with the alternative on the ballot paper being Remain. If Labour backs the plan wholeheartedly and enough Tories back it to avoid the disaster of no deal or a long delay, it will have a chance.
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Post by Admin on Mar 19, 2019 17:29:16 GMT
John Bercow today refused to explain his controversial Brexit blocking - or apologise for meddling.
The Commons Speaker made a string of sarcastic jokes when he was approached by the BBC this morning.
He ignored repeated questions about his controversial move to stop Theresa May holding a third vote on his Brexit deal.
Mr Bercow was filmed walking to work in Parliament and asked: "Can you explain to the public what you did yesterday?"
But instead of responding, he said, "I really feel you ought to get yourselves some coffee or tea" - then made a joke about the reporter's hat.
As the camera crew crossed the road with him, Mr Bercow snapped: "Careful, careful! There are cars coming along here, I'm not going to sacrifice myself for your benefit.
"I know that you attach great weight to what you think, but perhaps you'd be kind enough to allow me to proceed."
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