LONDON (Mar 14): Britain’s Parliament voted to avoid an economically disastrous no-deal split from the European Union, opening the door to delaying Brexit and radically re-writing the terms of the divorce. The pound climbed to its highest level since June.
On another chaotic day in London, Theresa May suffered a major rebellion from her own Conservatives, lost two big votes, saw a minister resign, and ended up warning that Brexit will be delayed for many months if there’s no agreement in the next week.
At the end of the night, the House of Commons eventually voted 321 to 278 to reject leaving the EU with no deal and is now expected to seek to postpone the UK’s departure.
May herself is still suffering with an illness and pulled out of the main debate because she has almost lost her voice. When she did speak -- after the results were announced -- she wasn’t happy. “The House needs to face up to the consequences of the decisions it has taken,” she said.
No Deal
It is almost three years since Britain voted to cancel its 40-year membership of the EU and with just 16 days to go until exit day, Theresa May’s government has failed to get an agreement that can win the support of Parliament.
The prime minister’s preferred deal, which took two years to negotiate, was resoundingly rejected by the Commons for the second time in a vote on Tuesday night. Now, MPs have decided to avoid leaving the bloc without a deal.
The question is, what kind of plan will Parliament vote for, and how much longer do Britain’s politicians need to make up their minds?
“The legal default in UK and EU law remains that the UK will leave the EU without a deal unless something else is agreed,” May told the Commons after the vote on Wednesday. “The onus is now on every one of us in this House to find out what that is.”
May said if a deal can be agreed to in the next seven days, she would ask the EU for a short “technical” extension to the March 29 exit day deadline. If there’s no deal by March 20 -- the eve of the next European leaders’ summit -- the delay will be much longer, she said.
That will mean the UK taking part in European Parliament elections in May, something the prime minister said would not be “right.”
Tory Revolt
May’s warning of a long postponement is a tactic aimed at persuading pro-Brexit Conservatives and their allies in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to back a deal before it’s too late. A long delay would potentially clear a path for a second referendum, which could overturn the result of the first.
The DUP is in talks with May’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, who’s aiming to allay their concerns about the Irish border backstop, according to a person familiar with the matter.
But after Wednesday’s votes, May will struggle to persuade Conservative euro-skeptics to do what she tells them to. Four pro-EU Cabinet ministers -- David Gauke, Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Mundell -- all defied the premier’s orders and abstained instead of voting against a rebel motion designed to rule out a no-deal Brexit more firmly than her own proposal.
May lost the battle, after 43 Conservative members of Parliament either voted against her or abstained in the crucial vote at the end of the night. It’s another sign that the premier’s ability to command her own party is growing weaker by the day.
Rotten Deal
Steve Baker, a leading pro-Brexit Conservative, insisted his colleagues will not give in to May’s tactics and would never support her proposed agreement. “The deal is so rotten we were right to vote it down, and come what may we will continue to do so,” Baker said.
Meanwhile in Brussels, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned that postponing Brexit won’t be straightforward.
“It could be a tactical, a political prolongation,” Barnier told Euronews TV. “In that case, I know the answers and the reaction of the EU side, the EU leaders, the EU Parliament: ‘What for? Why do you need a prolongation? Is it for organizing a new referendum, new elections or not?”’
