Crucial vote is put off until the New Year
A CRUNCH vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal will not take place before Christmas, it was revealed yesterday.
The much-anticipated Commons showdown over the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement will come early in the New Year.
Confirmation from Downing Street came after the newlypublished schedule for next week’s Commons business showed no sign of the vote taking place.
Parliament starts its Christmas recess next Friday and the business for the week, announced by Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom, features no Brexit elements beyond a statement by Mrs May on Monday about this week’s EU summit.
The Government has promised the vote will take place before January 21.
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said “The ‘meaningful vote’ will not be brought to Parliament before Christmas.” She added: “We will do it as soon as possible in January.”
The vote, which had been due to take place on Tuesday evening at the end of five days of debate, was postponed amid expectations that Mrs May’s government would lose heavily.
Announcing the decision to push back the vote, Mrs May said she was aware of particular worries about the Northern Ireland backstop plan – the guarantee to prevent a hard border if no permanent customs solution is found – and would seek clarification from EU leaders.
But the move was met with anger on all sides, prompting a further flurry of letters from Conservative MPs which triggered Wednesday’s no-confidence vote won by the Prime Minister.
Mrs May held a whistlestop tour of European capitals earlier this week, in a bid to win a better deal.
She was hoping to do the same in Brussels yesterday and today, where she is attending a European Council summit.