IT’S A WASHOUT
..and this lot aren’t so clever either Crucial Brexit time lost as leak locks out MPs Peers drag feet as Labour talks continue
RIGHT on cue, water flooded into the Commons yesterday as crisis talks to break the Brexit deadlock were branded a washout.
MPs were forced to quit the chamber hours early over the leaking ceiling while negotiations between Labour and No10 teams elsewhere proved fruitless.
The torrent meant a Government plan to book time for crucial votes next week was scuppered as the rest of the day’s business was cancelled and the Commons is in recess today.
Tory Julia Lopez wondered if it was a “Biblical flood coming to wash us all away”. But things later took a mindbending turn as pro-EU TV psychic Uri Geller, 72, claimed responsibility.
The star said: “Yes, I did it. I bent the pipes and I won’t apologise, you all deserve it.” Geller claimed he acted after last week telling Theresa May he will “not allow” her to lead us out of the EU.
In the Lords, peers had been braced for a late night trying to rush through a bid to stop no-deal. Tory whips had even planned for votes to drag on until 6.30am today but an agreement was struck, meaning a debate will continue on Monday.
Just yards across Westminster, No10 and Labour teams said negotiations were detailed but there had been no compromise and they will meet again today. Labour sources were downbeat, claiming Mrs May’s team had not budged on her red lines.
Negotiators led by the PM’s de facto deputy David Lidington had put the emphasis on why Labour should back her plan and picked holes in Labour’s key demands – a customs arrangement and alignment on workers’ rights and environmental protections.
An insider said: “In terms of today being a breakthrough, or a big open offer, that hasn’t happened yet.”
The stalemate comes despite confirmation from senior Government figures that they could accept a customs union. Chancellor Philip Hammond said: “Some kind of customs arrangement is clearly going to be part of the future structure. Both parties have to give something up.”
Health Secretary Matt
Hancock said: “I have spoken about the problems of a customs union. But I also want to deliver Brexit.”
And Attorney General Geoffrey Cox added: “We are assisting at the birth of something new. Births are not always easy and we must take the necessary steps.” Mr Lidington later joined Mr Hammond, Mr Cox, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and the Business and Brexit Secretaries at No10. They were preparing to write to EU chief
Donald Tusk to request a further delay but are split on the length.
Remainer Labour MP Rupa Huq had a private meeting with Mrs May yesterday to voice her concerns. She said the PM seemed reluctant to budge on many red lines and seemed keen to bring back her thrice-defeated deal.
But she said the PM signalled she might be prepared to accept some form of customs arrangement. However, Mrs May had remained “pretty implacably opposed” to the prospect of a second referendum, she added.
It comes after Mr Hammond suggested a “confirmatory vote” was a “credible” option Parliament “deserved” to look at. Sources suggested No10 was drafting a letter to Labour that could include the idea of a fresh vote for MPs.
The comments sparked further fury from Tory Brexiteers, who are already plotting to oust the PM. Hardline Eurosceptic Steve Baker accused her of effectively making Jeremy Corbyn her deputy by begging him to bail her out.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, in Ireland for talks, said Germany would do everything it could to prevent a no-deal departure. But in Brussels, heads of various European Commission departments warned Secretary-General Martin Selmayr his insistence the bloc was ready for no-deal was mistaken.
Meanwhile, the conduct of the Lords came under scrutiny as they debated Yvette Cooper’s Bill to force Mrs May to seek a further EU extension, effectively blocking no-deal. Tory peers had tried to stop the Bill being rushed through and Labour’s Baroness Hayter accused pro-Brexit Tories of trying to “thwart” the Commons’ will.
But party grandee Lord Lawson said: “I’ve served for 45 years and there has never been an instance of constitutional vandalism of a scale we are witnessing.” He even claimed “insurrectionary forces” would be unleashed if the 2016 referendum result is not honoured.
After Lords approval, it must still be signed off by Brussels on Wednesday.