Euro elections go ahead as Brexit pushed back to July

●May’s deputy admits government is out of time before voters go to the polls

UK ministers have put off a Brexit breakthrough until as late as July as the government confirmed that European elections will go ahead this month.

David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister and Theresa May’s deputy, admitted there was not enough time to pass legislation to implement a Brexit deal before voters go to the polls on 23 May.

With cross-party talks yet to produce a compromise Brexit deal, Downing Street conceded that its new target was to reach an agreement before the summer recess, which starts at the end of July. Confirmation that European elections would go ahead came with only hours to go before a voter registration deadline.

Speaking ahead of the resumption of talks between the two main parties, Mr Lidington insisted the government would be “redoubling our efforts” to get an EU withdrawal agreement ratified by the start of July so the MEPS elected this month never have to take their seats.

But he conceded: “Parliament has had several occasions to vote on leaving the European Union.

“So far, every time there has been

a majority against leaving with any particularly orderly deal, so we are engaged as a government in talks with the opposition, and with others across Parliament, to try and find a way forward that has maximum possible support amongst politicians of all political parties.

“What this now means, given how little time there is, is that it is regrettably not going to be possible to finish that process before the date that is legally due for European Parliamentary elections.”

Mr Lidington added: “We very much hoped that we would be able to get our exit sorted and have the treaty concluded so that those elections did not have to take place.

“But legally, they do have to take place – unless our withdrawal has been given legal effect – so those will now go ahead.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman later said: “On the basis of advice in relation to parliamentary timetables, we will look to complete this ideally by 30 June, but if not then, by summer recess.”

Yesterday’s talks were described as “constructive and detailed”. Further meetings will take place today. A dismal result in local elections last week for the Tories, coupled with a poor performance from Labour, had created a sense of urgency, with both sides saying voters had delivered a message to ‘sort’ Brexit.

But under pressure from pro-eu MPS on the opposition benches, Labour has hardened its stance in recent days. Shadow Chancellor John Mcdonnell warned any deal agreed with the government may have to offer the Commons a vote on a second EU referendum. And Labour’s shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook said on Monday it was “self-evident” that opposition MPS would not back a deal without a confirmatory public vote attached.

One Labour MP who backs a so-called People’s Vote sounded a pessimistic note yesterday, telling The Scotsman: “If a referendum was going to happen, things would be further along by now.”

Meanwhile, Mrs May was told she must set a firm resignation date in a meeting with the chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers.

And senior Tory activists will consider the question of Mrs May’s leadership at an emergency meeting of association chairmen next month.

Grassroots Tories will hold a non-binding no-confidence vote on 15 June that would further damage Mrs May’s authority if it passes.

In a message to members of the convention of local association chiefs, chairman Andrew Sharpe said they would be asked to vote on a motion stating “we no longer feel that Mrs May is the right person to continue as Prime Minister to lead us forward in the negotiations” and “therefore with great reluctance ask that she considers her position and resigns”.

Mrs May has said she will step down if her withdrawal agreement is ratified, but with the deadline for Brexit extended to the end of October, she has not made clear how long she intends to stay if no deal is reached.

Yesterday leading Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash said “the time has come for her to resign”.

“She needs to be given a date,” he said. “The sooner the better, but it needs to be done in an orderly manner.”

In Brussels, European Commission president Jeanclaude Juncker said he made a “mistake” in failing to intervene in Britain’s EU referendum campaign.

Mr Juncker said he could have destroyed the “lies” during the 2016 campaign, but accepted the advice of Prime Minister David Cameron, who urged him not to get involved.

In the event that Brexit does actually happen, the UK’S participation in the European Parliament elections on 23 May is likely to become little more than an inconsequential footnote. A nuisance of history, more than anything else, with British MEPS potentially serving for a few, rather pointless, weeks.

However, that does not mean the election itself is pointless. Far from it, in fact, as demonstrated by the impact of the council elections in England last week. It appears to have focussed the minds of Conservative and Labour politicans in particular, who suddenly seemed to start talking to each other with renewed enthusiasm.

Voters’ anger with the two main UK parties was obvious, with the Conservatives losing an extraordinary 1,330 seats, while Labour, which normally would have expected to make significant gains given the extent of the ruling party’s defeat, lost 84. The big winners were the Liberal Democrats, who added 704 councillors, the Greens, up 194, and independents, whose number rose by 661. These figures certainly made politicians sit up and take notice of public anger. And now the whole country will have an opportunity to let its feelings on

Brexit be known. For those reckless enough to wish for a no-deal Brexit, there is, of course, the new Brexit Party, which according to a poll last month is on course to win with 27 per cent of the vote, with Labour on 22 per cent and the Conservatives on 15. The better the Brexit party performs, the greater the pressure will be on the UK government and Tory MPS to allow a no-deal Brexit.

It is important to remember that if the Commons cannot agree to a deal and the UK does not seek a further extension of Brexit, that is what will happen.

So those who do not wish to see a no-deal Brexit would do well to consider their vote carefully in order to send that message to the Commons. Those who hope for Brexit with a deal could back the Conservatives or possibly Labour, a party which needs to urgently clarify its actual position. If parties that back a second referendum, like the SNP, Lib Dems and Greens, do well, it will boost the chances of that taking place. In many ways, this election is almost like a second referendum on Brexit through the distorting prism of party politics. Who knows, it might even attract a record turnout – although beating the 38.5 per cent in 2004 wouldn’t be much of an achievement.