MPs hold May to compromise on Brexit vote

More bruising debate in Commons

LONDON, June 13, (Agencies): Pro-Europeans in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party warned Wednesday she must keep promises to give parliament a greater say over the final Brexit deal or risk a truce she needs to avoid a damaging defeat.

May narrowly avoided losing a major vote on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday by offering lastminute concessions to Tory MPs who fear the government could decide on its own to leave the bloc with no deal.

But there is a dispute over what exactly she promised, with eurosceptics warning that there must be no question of allowing lawmakers the opportunity to undo Brexit.

May’s Downing Street office said she would publish a compromise amendment on Thursday, which will go to the upper House of Lords for debate on Monday, and then back to MPs.

Leading pro-European Tory MP Dominic Grieve said he hoped a compromise would be found, but warned that if not, “this isn’t the end of the matter”.

May, who leads a minority government propped up by the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), conceded on Wednesday that “we need parliamentary support” to implement Brexit.

But while ministers must be accountable to lawmakers, she told MPs that “the government’s hand in negotiations cannot be tied by parliament”.

She added: “I cannot countenance parliament being able to overturn the will of the British people.”

The Brexit talks are progressing painfully slowly, but both sides still hope to reach a deal in October ahead of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU in March 2019.

May has promised to give the British parliament a vote on the final deal, but the question is what happens if lawmakers decide to reject it.

On Tuesday, MPs overturned an amendment made by the Lords which would have given parliament the power to decide whether to leave the EU without a deal, keep negotiating – or stay in the bloc.

In related news, the British government faced more bruising debate on its key Brexit bill Wednesday, after being forced to give ground to pro-EU lawmakers to avoid defeat.

The House of Commons was holding a second day of votes on the European Union Withdrawal Bill, intended to disentangle Britain from the bloc. The government is trying to reverse changes inserted by the House of Lords that would soften the terms of Brexit and give Parliament more say in the process.

The government averted defeat Tuesday by promising that Parliament would get more say over the UK-EU divorce deal. But pro-EU lawmakers warned they could rebel again if the promise was not met.

Lawmakers were to vote Wednesday on the divisive issue of Britain’s future customs relationship with the EU.