Theresa May gathers cabinet after Bercow deals fresh blow to her Brexit deal
Theresa May is set to push on with her deal despite Commons speaker John Bercow threatening to derail the process yesterday.
Read more: 'Constitutional crisis' as Bercow blocks another vote on May's Brexit deal
Today Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay suggested a vote could occur next week despite Bercow saying “substantial changes” must be made to the deal for it to be put to MPs for a third time.
The Prime Minister was preparing to seek a third meaningful vote on her deal early this week until Bercow said yesterday that he could block an attempt to put it to MPs yet again.
It suffered two resounding rejections in December and earlier this month.
May is now gathering her cabinet as Barclay said the government was giving “serious consideration” to Bercow’s intervention.
Speaking to Sky News, Barclay said: "The Speaker has raised the bar with his ruling yesterday, clearly that merits serious consideration and we will discuss it at Cabinet this morning.
"We always said, in terms of bringing a vote back for a third time, we would need to see a shift from parliamentarians in terms of the support."
The Speaker referred to a ruling dating back to 1604 to say his decision has precedent.
But Barclay told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that MPs would “find a way” to win another vote on the deal if the government can make the case for another.
They could vote to ignore the 1604 ruling, according to children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi.
Speaking to Sky News, Barclay admitted Bercow's intervention makes it "more unlikely" a vote can take place this week, however.
MPs have already voted for a delay to Brexit, with the UK currently on track to leave the EU with or without a deal on 29 March.
The length of the delay depends on whether parliament approves May’s deal, Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng has told parliament.
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However, ITV’s Robert Peston reports that the EU will postpone the decision on whether to grant the UK a delay, with sources saying leaders will “ask for more clarity from the UK” on the reasons behind a delay.
“After all, there is still a whole week to go,” his source said.