Vote on Brexit deal will be held in January, May vows
Pro-EU cabinet members, opposition mull new referendum
LONDON—
Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday that the postponed vote in Parliament on Britain’s Brexit agreement with the European Union will be held the week of Jan. 14 — more than a month after it was originally scheduled and just 10 weeks before Britain leaves the EU.
But even as May insisted she could salvage her unpopular divorce deal, pressure was mounting for dramatic action — a new referendum or a vote among lawmakers — to find a way out of Britain’s Brexit impasse and prevent the economic damage of a messy exit from the EU on March 29 with no agreement in place.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, said he would submit a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister over her delays. Losing the vote on such a motion would increase the pressure on May, but unlike a no-confidence vote in the government as a whole, it wouldn’t trigger a process leading to the fall of the government
The British government and the EU sealed a divorce deal last month, but May postponed a parliamentary vote intended to ratify the agreement last week when it became clear legislators would overwhelmingly reject it. She tried to win changes from the EU to sweeten the deal for reluctant lawmakers, but was rebuffed by the bloc at a summit in Brussels last week.
May told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday that they would resume de- bate on the deal when Parliament comes back after its Christmas break the week of Jan. 7, with the vote held the following week.
Opposition legislators — and many from May’s party — remain opposed to the deal, and accused May of deliberately wasting time by delaying the vote for several more weeks.
Pro-EU cabinet ministers, meanwhile, are seeking to work with opposition politicians to find a way out of the morass. One suggestion is to give members of Parliament votes on a range of options — from leaving without a deal to holding a new referendum — to see if there is majority support for any course of action.
“I think businesses up and down the country would expect elected members to take responsibility, rather than just be critics,” Business Secretary Greg Clark told the BBC.