Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
U.K.’s May delays EU-exit deal vote
Move batters pound; plan in disarray
LONDON — Facing the prospect of defeat, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday postponed a vote in Parliament on her European Union-exit deal, saying she would go back to EU leaders to seek changes to the divorce agreement.
May’s move threw Britain’s exit plans into disarray, intensified a domestic political crisis and battered the pound. With EU officials adamant the withdrawal deal was not up for renegotiation, the country does not know on what terms it will leave — and whether May will still be Britain’s leader when it does.
In an emergency statement to the House of Commons, May accepted that the deal she struck last month with EU leaders was likely to be rejected “by a significant margin” if the vote were held
today as planned.
“We will therefore defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow and not proceed to divide the house at this time,” she said.
May said she would defer the vote so she could seek “assurances” from the EU and bring the deal back to Parliament. She did not set a new date for the vote. The U.K.’s departure is supposed to take place on March 29.
Opposition lawmakers — and ones from May’s Conservative Party — were incredulous and angry. Some accused her of trampling on parliamentary democracy.
Although the prime minister appears to have the authority to unilaterally postpone the vote, there was opposition to such a move, adding yet another layer of unanswered questions to a process already steeped in uncertainty. Some opponents of the deal were eager to stick to the schedule and deliver a resounding defeat to the bill and to May.
“The government has lost control of events and is in complete disarray,” Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said. “It’s been evident for weeks that the prime minister’s deal did not have the confidence of this house, yet she plowed on regardless, reiterating this is the only deal available.”
Corbyn demanded, and was granted, an emergency debate today on the postponement. But Labor lawmaker Lloyd Russell-Moyle was expelled from Parliament for the day after he grabbed the House of Commons’ ceremonial mace as a sign of protest.
The centuries-old gilded staff is the symbol of royal authority. Without it, the Commons can’t meet or pass laws.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading pro-exit Conservative, expressed despair at the shambles.
“It’s not really governing,” he said. “It’s just an awful muddle.”
Monday’s turmoil sent the pound to a 20-month low against the dollar of $1.2550.
It was a new blow for May, who became prime minister after Britain’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU. She has been battling ever since — first to strike a divorce deal with the bloc, then to sell it to skeptical British lawmakers.
May insisted the agreement hammered out with the EU after a year and a half of negotiations was “the best deal that is negotiable.” But it has been scorned by lawmakers on all sides of Britain’s debate about Europe.
In hours of questioning that followed her announcement, some members of her party accused her of reneging on promises, while opposition lawmakers pressed for her to resign or call elections.
Laughter broke out in the House of Commons when May claimed there was “broad support” for many aspects of the deal.
Pro-exit lawmakers say the deal keeps Britain bound too closely to the EU, while proEU politicians say it erects barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner and leaves many details of the future relationship undecided.
The main sticking point is a “backstop” provision that aims to guarantee an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.’s Northern Ireland after the separation. The measure would keep Britain under EU customs rules and is supposed to last until it is superseded by permanent new trade arrangements.
Critics say it could leave Britain tied to the EU indefinitely, unable to strike new trade deals around the world.
May said she would hold talks with EU leaders ahead of a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, seeking “further reassurances” over the backstop.
“Nothing should be off the table,” she said.
EU leaders signaled they are prepared to help Britain, up to a point, but insisted the agreement could not be changed.
“The deal is the deal,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said. “It’s taken two years to put together. It’s a fair deal for both sides.”
European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: “We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate U.K. ratification.”
Responding to the delayed vote, Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s representative in the exit negotiations, wrote on Twitter, “I can’t follow anymore.”
“This delay will further aggravate the uncertainty for people & businesses,” he wrote. “It’s time they make up their mind!”
Another key member of the European parliament’s exit team, Green lawmaker Philippe Lamberts, predicted May’s shuttle diplomacy would fail to secure changes.
“The only net result of this round of capitals will be an additional amount of CO2 in the atmosphere,” he said.
CALL FOR NO-CONFIDENCE
Despite May’s determination to press on, the tumult leaves her in a precarious position. Conservative rivals are preparing for a potential leadership challenge, and Labor has threatened to call for a no-confidence motion in the government.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her Scottish National Party would support an attempt to topple the government and trigger a new election.
“This shambles can’t go on — so how about it?” Sturgeon tweeted at Corbyn.
The leaders of the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, a Welsh party, also announced that if Corbyn asked for a vote of no confidence in May, their parties would support it — though all their votes, combined with Labor’s, would still leave such a motion short of a majority.
Corbyn stopped short of calling a no-confidence vote Monday, but said if May could not renegotiate with the EU, “then she must make way.”
Delays in approving the deal increase the chances of Britain crashing out of the EU with no agreement. The government and the Bank of England have warned that could bring logjams to British ports and plunge the country into its deepest recession in decades.
May said the government would step up preparations for a no-deal exit in order to mitigate its worst effects. It has already stockpiled medicines and other key goods.
Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the Confederation of British Industry, said the delay was “yet another blow for companies desperate for clarity.”
“Investment plans have been paused for two-and-ahalf years,” she said. “Unless a deal is agreed quickly, the country risks sliding towards a national crisis.”
May has also warned that rejecting her deal could result in Britain not leaving the EU at all.
Some campaigners in the U.K. want just that. They got a boost Monday when the EU’s top court ruled that Britain can change its mind over the separation if it wants.
Britain invoked Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, triggering a twoyear exit process. A group of Scottish legislators had asked the European Court of Justice to rule on whether the U.K. could pull out of the withdrawal procedure on its own.
The court said Monday that when an EU member country has notified the bloc of its intent to leave, “that member state is free to revoke unilaterally that notification.”
May has repeatedly said the government will not seek to delay or reverse its exit. She said Monday that Parliament had a duty to “get Brexit done and get it done right.”
And she urged lawmakers to unite in a spirit of conciliation — a plea that has, so far, fallen on deaf ears.