Brexit deal in chaos again
PRIME Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans have been thrown into further turmoil after the Speaker of Parliament ruled that she could not put her divorce deal to a new vote unless it was re-submitted in fundamentally different form.
In comments that have blindsided Mrs May’s office, Speaker John Bercow says the government could not bring forward proposals for a vote in Parliament that were substantially the same as had already been defeated twice before, in January and last week.
The ruling put Britain on a knife edge – Brexiteers seeking a complete break from the EU see a “no-deal” exit as now more likely while others think Mrs May might put off Brexit beyond the set March 29 departure date, if the EU approves.
One of the government’s senior law officers, Solicitor General Robert Buckland, said: “We’re in a major constitutional crisis here.”
He told the BBC that one way to bring Mrs May’s deal back for a vote in the House of Commons could be prorogation – ending the parliament session prematurely and starting a new one.
According to precedents stretching back to 1604, parliamentary rules say that substantially similar proposals cannot be voted on in the House of Commons more than once during the same session of parliament. Mr Bercow said on Monday that his ruling should not be considered his last word and the government could bring forward a new proposition that was not the same as those already voted upon.
The pound fell to its day’s low against the euro and the US dollar on Mr Bercow’s statement, before recovering when the government said negotiations on a deal were
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT LEGITIMATELY DO IS TO RESUBMIT TO THE HOUSE THE SAME PROPOSITION SPEAKER JOHN BERCOW
continuing with MPS from Northern Ireland, who prop up Mrs May’s minority government and have opposed her withdrawal accord so far.
“This is my conclusion: if the government wishes to bring forward a new proposition that is neither the same, nor substantially the same as that disposed of by the House on the 12th of March, this would be entirely in order,” Mr Bercow said.
“What the government cannot legitimately do is to resubmit to the House the same proposition or substantially the same proposition as that of last week which was rejected by 149 votes.”