- PM delays vote on Brexit deal
Uncertainty over the U.K’s exit from the EU is rising. The U.K. government will not bring a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal to parliament next week, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday.
Speaking before leaving for the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for an EU-Arab League summit, May said her Brexit negotiation team would continue talks with EU officials to secure a deal that could be backed by a majority in the House of Commons.
“As a result, we won't bring a meaningful vote to Parliament this week, but we will ensure that happens by March 12,” she said, adding 'but it is still within our grasp to leave the European Union with a deal on March 29.'
Reacting to calls for more negotiation time to extend article 50 and to avoid a crash out from the EU, May claimed it would not solve the impasse.
Three cabinet ministers earlier over the weekend warned about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.
In an article they jointly wrote for the Daily Mail, Work Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark said they would vote to give Britain more time to negotiate a deal with the European Union.
The ministers said they would not “shrink from flouting her authority if her deal is blocked again next week”, adding, “This will mean there is no time to stop a ‘disastrous No Deal’ exit'.
They wrote that the disorderly Brexit would inflame historic border tensions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and ultimately lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom, in addition to hitting jobs, trade and the economy.
The possibility of a no-deal Brexit has arisen since a deal reached between the EU and the U.K. government was rejected by an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons in the run-up to the country’s planned exit from the EU on March 29, 2019.
May has been holding meetings with EU officials since the parliamentary defeat after telling the House of Commons that the Irish backstop clause would be replaced with “alternative arrangements”.
However, the EU said the withdrawal agreement would not be reopened for negotiations.
The House of Commons was set to debate and vote on May’s supposedly altered deal next week as just over a month is left before the March 29 Brexit date.
May promised to update the House of Commons again on Monday, Feb. 26 by which time if she did not get a new deal, she said she would give members a say on the next steps in non-binding votes.
Opposition parties have criticized May's previous postponements on Brexit in Parliament, claiming that she is 'running down the clock' to support her deal instead of a no-deal Brexit.