Brexit: Debate on May’s deal gets underway amid uncertainty

LONDON: The House of Commons on Tuesday began a crucial fiveday debate on the controversial withdrawal agreement from the EU that will be put to vote on December 11, amid increasing uncertainty over Brexit that is slated for March 29, 2019.

Geoffrey Cox, attorney general, faced censure for alleged contempt of Parliament for not publishing his full legal advice to the cabinet on Brexit, while a top EU legal officer declared that London could unilaterally stop Brexit by revoking the notification to leave the EU.

Speaker John Bercow ruled late on Monday that there was an “arguable case” that a contempt of Parliament had been committed by Cox by publishing only a “position”, not the full legal advice that reportedly warns of the UK being tied to EU rules longer than expected.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who opened the Brexit debate, insisted that the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration endorsed by the European Council was in the national interest.

However, May’s deal is expected to be voted down next Tuesday, given the criticism it is facing from opposition parties, hardline Conservative MPs and the Democratic Unionist Party.

May believes the deal delivers on the commitment to end free movement of EU citizens into the UK, which was a key reason for the ‘Leave’ vote. It also ends the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, she adds.

According to May, the deal will leave Britain “as a globally trading nation, in charge of our own destiny”. But Labour has threatened to table a vote of no-confidence as part of a move to trigger a general election if May is defeated on Tuesday.