May suffers stunning defeats
MPs take control of Brexit deal and may demand a second referendum
British Prime Minister Theresa May stands accused of misleading MPs over her Brexit deal as her government published legal advice likely to increase opposition to the agreement ahead of a crucial vote next week.
May on Tuesday suffered a series of stunning defeats in parliament which threaten her government and could change the course of the Brexit.
She effectively lost her majority in the Commons after the Northern Irish party on which she relies sided with the Labour party to find her ministers in contempt of parliament for failing to publish in full the legal advice on the Brexit deal.
Meanwhile 25 of her own Conservative MPs voted with Labour as well to give the Commons a bigger say in what happens next if, as expected, the Brexit deal is voted down on December 11.
“I believe that the deal we have negotiated is a good deal,” May said.
The government on Wednesday finally published the sixpage advice from the attorney general to cabinet, which warns of the “legal risk” inherent in a clause intended to keep open the border with Ireland.
It confirms Britain risks remaining “indefinitely” in the socalled backstop, which could keep the whole country in an EU customs union for years after Brexit, while also keeping the province of Northern Ireland in the bloc’s single market.
MPs on Tuesday also voted to approve an amendment tabled by Conservative former attorney general Dominic Grieve, which allows parliament to determine what happens if the deal falls.
If May loses the vote next week, the government has 21 days to return to MPs to propose what happens next.
Grieve’s amendment could allow MPs to amend that statement, raising the possibility they could demand a re-negotiation, a second referendum or even staying in the EU.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox aired that concern, saying that a majority in favour of staying in the EU in parliament “may attempt to steal the Brexit from the British people”.
May opened the first of five days of debate on the Brexit deal on Tuesday. Wednesday’s debate focused on security.
On Tuesday, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called May’s plan “a huge and damaging failure for Britain”.
There are few people who believe May’s deal will survive the vote next Tuesday but the question of what happens next remains wide open.
Some Conservative MPs are pushing for a second referendum, with a choice of staying in the EU.
Many MPs want May to renegotiate her deal, and she is due at a Brussels summit two days after next week’s vote.
However, EU leaders have repeatedly said they will not reopen the divorce deal.
If her deal fails, May would likely face a confidence vote in the Commons, or a challenge by her own Conservative MPs. –