UK prime minister rejects Brexit control proposal
LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May cannot accept a proposal to hand parliament more control over Brexit, her spokesperson said yesterday, setting up a showdown with lawmakers who want the right to step in if Britain risks crashing out of the EU with no deal.
May has struggled to get backing for an EU withdrawal bill that would cut ties with the bloc. She tried to find a compromise with pro-EU lawmakers in her Conservative Party, but the arrangement fell through.
Today she will again try to head off a rebellion by pro-EU Conservatives over their demand for a “meaningful vote” on any Brexit deal.
The pro-EU Conservative lawmakers want parliament to be able to intervene before Britain’s deadline to leave the EU by next March, if May’s government fails to negotiate a deal with Brussels or if it reaches a deal that lawmakers reject.
The government says giving parliament too big a say would tie its hands in talks, and has offered instead to give parliament a vote on a statement on its next steps.
With no majority in the House of Commons, it would take only a handful of Conservatives to vote against the government for May to lose.
But one lawmaker said ministers may have won over some of the rebels who threatened to vote against its proposal.
With party officials still trying to persuade lawmakers, May’s spokesperson expressed “hope that all MPs would be able to support the government’s position”. – Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)