Route to withdrawal if May survives fight to stay as PM
GEORGINA STUBBS
VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE Leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday submitted a letter of no confidence in Mrs May to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee.
The level of Brexiteer discontent has raised expectations of further letters of no confidence in Mrs May from Tory MPs, with a total of 48 needed to trigger a vote on her position. If that happens, Mrs May will require support from 50% of the 315 Conservative MPs to stay in office. BRUSSELS SUMMIT
With the Cabinet giving the green light to Britain’s Brexit blueprint, it clears the way for the special Brexit summit in Brussels for EU leaders to approve the deal.
Leaders of the remaining 27 EU states will be asked to put their stamp on the document, and the agreement will then be sent for ratification to both the Westminster Parliament and the European Parliament.
European Council President, Donald Tusk, confirmed in a press conference on Thursday that the summit will take place on November 25.
But before that date, an agreement will have to be reached on the political declaration, published on Wednesday, on future relations — which is currently an outline and due to become a full future framework. PARLIAMENT
The British Government would hope to hold a vote in the House of Commons before Christmas, and if every obstacle is cleared, the deal would come into effect in time for the UK’s departure on March 29, 2019. It is expected the debate will stretch over several days and will end in a meaningful vote, possibly in early December, before the next scheduled European Council summit on December 13.
TRANSITION
Following Brexit on March 29 next year, there will be a transition period in place until December 31, 2020 to allow time to form a deal on the UK’s future relationship with the EU. If this is not possible by the end of that date, the UK and EU could jointly agree to extend the transition period, however EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday that they “haven’t fleshed out” how that could be done.
Alternatively, a temporary backstop arrangement could also be put in place from January 2021.