Battle over Brexit resumes ahead of big vote

LONDON: Britain’s battle over Brexit resumes as parliament returns from its Christmas break to debate and – most likely – defeat Prime Minister Theresa May’s unpopular European Union divorce deal.

The stakes could hardly be higher as the clock ticks down to the moment the world’s fifth-biggest economy splits from its main trading partner on March 29.

May and the other 27 EU leaders agreed on a draft agreement in November designed to keep the process as orderly and damage free as possible.

The accord took nearly two years to negotiate, but has managed to upset just about everyone in politics.

May survived her party’s resulting leadership no- confidence motion, but was forced to abort a December vote on the pact in parliament after admitting it would lose by a “significant margin”.

There are few signs that much has changed since.

May returned empty handed from an EU summit last month which she had hoped could address the concerns of her disgruntled Northern Irish coalition partners.

Brexit-backing MPs in her Conservative party are still in open revolt, while opposition Labour leaders are angling for new polls.

The BBC reported that the Brexit deal vote in parliament is now set for Jan 15. Downing Street declined to confirm the date, but May insisted on Sunday that it would not be delayed again.

The formal debate kicks off in parliament on Wednesday.

May warned on Sunday that the deal’s defeat would put Britain “in uncharted territory (in which) I don’t think anybody can say exactly what will happen”.

London has been swirling with rumours about how exactly May intends to avoid Britain crashing out of the bloc without any trade or other arrangements in place – something many MPs oppose.

May received a cross-party letter on Sunday from 209 lawmakers urging her “to agree a mechanism that would ensure a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could not take place”.

One tactic touted by advisers to force May’s deal through parliament would see the government re-introducing more or less the same version of the draft over and over again. — AFP