LONDON, March 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British MPs will on Tuesday vote again
on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, making the historic decision
whether to back her plan or risk a chaotic exit from the EU in less than
three weeks time.
Two months ago, the House of Commons rejected the withdrawal agreement by
a huge majority, and sent May back to renegotiate.
EU leaders have rejected her demands, however, and talks between British
and EU officials have failed to secure a breakthrough. If they fail to
approve a deal and if no extension is negotiated, Britain would have to leave
the European Union after 46 years of membership on March 29, causing huge
disruption on both sides.
Discussions at official level continued this weekend on some kind of legal
guarantees that might persuade MPs to back the deal. May is poised to make a
last-minute visit herself if needed.
But few expect any major concessions before Tuesday’s vote, and the prime
minister instead has sought to remind MPs of the stakes involved.
She warned in a speech Friday that rejecting her deal again would create a
“moment of crisis”. “Back it and the UK will leave the European Union. Reject
it and no one knows what will happen,” she said.
“We may not leave the EU for many months. We may leave without the
protections that the deal provides. We may never leave at all.”
A threatened cabinet revolt over the risks of a no-deal Brexit forced May
to agree that, if her deal is defeated again, MPs will be able to vote on
both a “no deal” option or a delay to Brexit this week.
– Blame game –
Speaking in Grimsby, a North Sea fishing port that voted to leave the EU
in the 2016 referendum, May asked Brussels for “one more push” to get an
agreement.
“The decisions that the European Union makes over the next few days will
have a big impact on the outcome of the vote,” she said.
Their talks are focused on the so-called backstop, an arrangement in the
Brexit deal intended to keep open the Irish border.
It would keep Britain in the EU’s customs union and parts of its single
market until and unless another way — such as a trade deal — is found to
avoid frontier checks.
Many MPs fear a trap to keep them tied to EU rules, but Brussels has
rejected calls for a time limit or unilateral way out of the arrangement.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier repeated on Friday that the bloc could
offer a legally binding statement confirming the backstop was only meant to
be temporary.
Speaking to reporters after May’s speech, he added: “We are not interested
in the blame game, we are interested in the result.”
– Brexit delay –
May’s deal was rejected by a majority of 230 votes in January, and
although a few MPs have come onside, there is no sign yet of a major shift in
opinion.
The main opposition Labour party still opposes the deal, even while May
has been wooing individual MPs with promises of protection for workers’
rights and new funds for poor towns.
If the deal is rejected on Tuesday, MPs are expected to vote against a “no
deal” exit on Wednesday, paving the way for a vote on delaying Brexit on
Thursday.
May is offering the possibility of a “short, limited” delay, but is
herself opposed, warning that eventually MPs will have to make a decision
about Britain’s future.
Any delay would have to be approved by the other 27 EU leaders, who are
next meeting at a Brussels summit on March 21/22 — a week before Brexit day.
Senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry told The Times on Saturday that her
party would back a short delay to Brexit, but not beyond July.
Labour has held out the possibility of backing a second referendum that
might reverse Brexit.
But Thornberry rejected speculation that it would back a plan to agree to
May’s deal on the condition of holding a public vote.