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British PM faces Brexit showdown with pro-EU rebels
LONDON, June 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May faces
a showdown with her pro-EU MPs on Wednesday over parliament’s role in the
final Brexit deal, which could influence her entire negotiation strategy.
MPs will vote on amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill setting out how
much power lawmakers will have if the government fails to agree a departure
deal before Brexit in March 2019.
May says she expects to get an agreement with Brussels, but warned that
any attempt to tie her hands could undermine the ongoing negotiations.
She averted a rebellion by pro-EU MPs in her Conservative Party on the
issue of parliamentary powers last week with a promise of a compromise, but
within days they had rejected her proposal as inadequate.
Instead they worked with peers to introduce their own amendment to the
unelected upper House of Lords, which agreed it by a landslide on Monday.
The amendment now returns to MPs in the elected lower House of Commons,
where Conservative rebels will ally with opposition parties in a bid to
finally make it law.
May’s spokesman refused to say if he believes the government has the
numbers to win the vote, but made clear that no more concessions would be
forthcoming.
“We cannot accept the amendment on a meaningful vote agreed in the Lords,”
he said, adding that it “would undermine our ability in the negotiations to
get the best deal for the country”.
“We will be retabling our original amendment,” he said, adding: “We hope
that all MPs will be able to support the government’s position.”
– ‘Government collapse’ –
Phillip Lee, the Tory MP who resigned as a minister in order to rebel
against the government last week, said that the result was in the balance.
“We were always going to get the normal dark arts of Westminster taking
place, fully expected, but my understanding is that the position taken by a
number of colleagues is solid, which is why the government is still in
negotiations,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
MORE/MR/ 1350 hrs
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The vote, due on Wednesday afternoon or early evening, could have
implications for Britain’s wider Brexit strategy, indicating where the power
lies in parliament.
May commands only a slim majority in the 650-seat Commons, made possible
through an alliance with Northern Ireland’s 10 Democratic Unionist Party MPs.
A victory for the pro-EU rebels would embolden them ahead of debates next
month on Britain’s future trading relationship with the European Union, which
they are seeking to keep as close as possible.
It would likely anger eurosceptics, who accuse the rebels of seeking to
thwart Brexit.
They are also becoming increasingly frustrated with the withdrawal process
under May’s leadership.
Leading Conservative rebel Dominic Grieve denied he was trying to
undermine the government or stop Brexit, but warned that if parliament
rejected the final Brexit deal, there would be a crisis.
“That’s what wakes me up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat,” he
told Sky News television.
“The very reason I’ve prompted this amendment is to provide a mechanism to
make sure that we don’t come to government collapse immediately.”
But eurosceptic Conservative MP Graham Stringer said Grieve and his
supporters were only interested in “sabotaging the whole process”.
– More realism –
Despite agreement on Britain’s financial settlement and EU citizens’
rights, the Brexit talks are progressing slowly, and there are few hopes of a
breakthrough at an EU summit later this month.
Both sides are still publicly aiming for an agreement in October, but this
is looking more and more difficult.
Negotiations are currently stalled on how to avoid border checks between
Northern Ireland, a part of the UK, and neighbouring EU member Ireland when
Britain develops its own trade and customs policies.
“Serious divergences” remain over Northern Ireland, the EU’s chief
negotiator Michel Barnier said Tuesday after a final round of talks between
London and Brussels ahead of the European summit.
The British government has also yet to decide on what it wants from the
future economic relationship.
It has been clear about one area, security cooperation — but many of its
proposals were on Tuesday knocked back by Barnier.
He said Britain could not stay in the European Arrest Warrant, take part
in meetings of policing agency Europol or access EU-only police databases.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1350 hrs