LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May has acknowledged that there is not enough support in the House of Commons for her to bring back her Brexit deal for a third “meaningful vote”.But May said she would continue her efforts to build support for the deal — defeated by 230 votes in January and 149 votes in March — and stage a vote before the end of the week.The European Council has set a deadline of Friday for the PM to secure parliamentary approval for her Withdrawal Agreement if the UK is to leave the EU with a deal on May 22. If she cannot get it through the Commons, then the UK has until April 12 to propose a different approach or crash out of the EU without a deal. MPs were expected later on Monday to debate and vote on a proposal to force a series of indicative votes on alternatives to her Withdrawal Agreement.In a statement to the House of Commons following a special meeting of Cabinet to discuss her plans, May said she regretted having to delay Brexit beyond the scheduled date of March 29 and thought “the right way forward” was to leave with a deal on May 22.But she told MPs: “I have had to conclude that as things stand, there is still not sufficient support in the House to bring back the deal for a third meaningful vote.“I continue to have discussions with colleagues across the House to build support, so that we can bring the vote forward this week, and guarantee Brexit.”Her admission came shortly after a phone call with DUP leader Arlene Foster, who made clear that the Northern Irish party was not giving up its opposition. The PM also met Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.May cautioned MPs against seeking to obstruct a statutory instrument tabled on Monday which will remove the date from Brexit legislation, warning that this would “cause legal confusion and uncertainty but it would not have any effect on the date of our exit”.Defeat for the government over the indicative votes plan tabled by former ministers Sir Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve and Labour MP Hilary Benn would be a further humiliation for May.The proposal seeks to pave the way for a series of indicative votes in the Commons on Wednesday, effectively taking control of the Brexit process out of the hands of the government. But May made clear the government will oppose the plan and will not regard the outcome of any votes as binding.In its statement, the European Commission said it had completed its preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit, but warned it would nonetheless cause “significant disruption for citizens and businesses”.
03-26-2019, 09:03 AM
May admits still not enough support to get Brexit deal through Commons
العرض الشجري