British PM May wins vote to keep her job
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE PRIME MINISTER STILL HAS NO BREXIT PLAN
How does a government go from suffering the worst defeat in parliamentary history to winning a no-confidence motion the next day?
The answer in Britain is Jeremy Corbyn.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been assailed from all sides, including her own Conservatives. The scale of her defeat on Tuesday was huge — she had the support of 202 MPS but another 432 voted against her.
But even on Tuesday night, May was certain that Labour opposition leader Corbyn was toxic to many in the House of Commons. She dared Corbyn to call a no-confidence motion and he obliged (after weeks of prevaricating).
On Wednesday, the no-confidence motion was defeated by 325 votes to 306.
In the debate leading up to the vote, Corbyn appeared to have the best argument.
“This government has failed our country … They failed again and lost the vote last night. Isn’t it the case … with every other previous prime minister, faced with the scale of defeat last night, they would have resigned and the country would be able to choose the government they want?”
But May had the best answer. “He has been calling for weeks for a general election in this country and yet on Sunday when he was asked ... would he campaign to leave the European Union he refused to answer. Not once, not twice, not three times but five times he refused to answer. So on what he himself describes as the key issue facing the country, he has no answer.”
Corbyn’s dilemma is that he is a staunch Euroskeptic, a man who would be delighted to see the U.K. get out of the EU. But he leads a party that, for the most part, wants to remain in the union.
On Wednesday, 71 Labour MPS called on Corbyn to support a second referendum on Brexit — the so-called People’s Vote. Clearly irritated, the leader’s office put out a statement that a second referendum was “not the default option.”
Later Joe Bradley, a staff member in the leader’s office, tweeted, “Not one of these MPS cares about removing a Tory government.”
Trying to force a general election has been Corbyn’s policy for weeks, even if he cannot spell out a coherent way forward on Brexit. And calls for a second referendum — especially from his own party — are unwelcome because another vote could result in the people who want to remain in the EU winning — a position he abhors.
Plus such an outcome would alienate the millions of Labour supporters who voted to leave the EU, and thus possibly cost him the next election.
But pressure is building on Corbyn ahead of March 29, the date Britain should leave the EU, to stake out a position.
After losing the no-confidence vote, Labour MP David Lammy said Corbyn should “follow the overwhelming feeling of the party and its members, which is to arrive in a place where we put this back to the British people in a People’s Vote.”
He claimed Corbyn would get “splinters in places he doesn’t want” if he “vacillates and sits on the fence.”
But as the clock ticks down, Corbyn shows no sign of wanting to move from that fence, or take part in the process.
On Wednesday night Corbyn snubbed May’s efforts at reaching a cross-party solution to the Brexit paralysis.
May asked the leaders of the opposition parties to meet her individually to discuss a way forward for the Brexit deal. But Corbyn turned down her invitation, saying he would only hold “substantive” talks if May first agreed to take a “no-deal” Brexit off the table.
May has refused to take that option off the table in part because she sees it as a valuable bargaining chip in two ways. Firstly, it might wring concessions out of the EU because of fears over the expected chaos that would ensue if Britain crashed out of Europe without a deal.
Secondly, as March 29 approaches, rebel lawmakers in her own party might be persuaded to support her deal — or a “soft Brexit” — rather than the alternative “no deal” — again because of the possible turmoil.
May again made clear Wednesday night that Britain will leave the EU on March 29 regardless of whether a deal is in place.
Corbyn responded, “Before there can be any discussions, the government must remove clearly, once and for all, the prospect of the catastrophe of a no-deal exit from the EU.”
May met the leaders of the other parties on Wednesday night and said she was “disappointed” Corbyn had refused to take part in the talks. “The door is still open,” she said.
Tory MPS said Corbyn would now have to take the blame if Britain ended up leaving without a deal.
MP James Heappey said, “Jeremy Corbyn has sat down with terrorists around the world apparently in pursuit of peace and always without preconditions. But will he sit down with the prime minister of the United Kingdom to tackle the biggest constitutional challenge of our time without preconditions? — No.”
May has until Monday to return to Parliament and present a Plan B.
There is increasing speculation that the March 29 deadline could be extended. Another major talking point was whether Brexit could involve some kind of customs union with the EU. May has refused to rule out such a customs union but it would cause fury among hardline Brexiteers who believe it would prevent Britain pursuing trade policy with other countries.
The reality for both Corbyn and May is that they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Which is why the first vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, was perhaps trying to be inspirational when he quoted British writer C.S. Lewis to suggest that there might yet be a fresh start for Brexit.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning,” he wrote on Twitter, reported The New York Times. “But you can start where you are and change the ending.”