24 February 2019•Update: 25 February 2019
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
The U.K. government will not bring a meaningful vote on Brexit deal to the parliament next week, British 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 the 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,” May said.
"But it is still within our grasp to leave the European Union with a deal on March 29," she added.
Also reacting to calls for extending article 50, for more negotiation time and to avoid a crash out from the EU, May said it would not solve the impasse.
Three cabinet ministers earlier in the weekend warned about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.
In an article they jointly wrote for the Daily Mail, Work and 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 will 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 risen since a deal reached between the EU and the U.K. government was rejected by an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons and the country is set to leave 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 has said the withdrawal agreement is not to be reopened for negotiations.
The House of Commons was set to debate and vote on May’s supposedly altered deal next week as a little longer than a month is left before the March 29 Brexit date.
May previously promised to update the House of Commons again on Feb. 26 and, if she had not got a new deal by then, to give them a say on the next steps in non-binding votes.
May's previous postponements on parliamentary affair on Brexit have been criticized by opposition parties, which have said May is "running down the clock" to support her deal instead of a no-deal Brexit.
U.K. voters decided to end the country’s more than 40-year-long membership in the bloc in 2016.
