Britain prepared to leave EU with no Brexit deal, says Andrea Leadsom February 15, 2019 The UK government is prepared to leave the EU without a Brexit deal in place, according to Andrea Leadsom. The government's leader in the House of Commons suggested it was increasingly unlikely that there would be any form of extension to Article 50. Read more: Theresa May to back down on backstop demands in Brexit deal [...]
Theresa May to back down on Brexit backstop demands with EU February 15, 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly set to compromise on demands for the Brexit deal to be renegotiated, with the UK government backing down on its requests for changes to the controversial Irish border "backstop" agreement. Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay told the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier that the government is not pursuing a reopening to [...]
Theresa May defeated on Brexit again as anti-EU Tories desert her in Commons vote February 14, 2019 Theresa May suffered a Valentine’s Day massacre on Thursday when Conservative Brexiters helped inflict a heavy Commons defeat on the government. The Prime Minister lost the support of the European Research Group of Tories after she tried to force her party to back a plan ruling out a ‘no deal’ Brexit. While the motion was [...]
Trade minister Liam Fox urges MPs to back Prime Minister in Brexit vote February 14, 2019 Trade secretary Liam Fox has urged his Tory colleagues to fall in line ahead of a showdown between Prime Minister Theresa May and her party’s hardline Brexiters in a vote this afternoon. The motion asks parliament to reiterate its support for a previous Brexit vote, when MPs passed an amendment allowing May to return to [...]
Elementary, my dear: Predicting Brexit in the style of Sherlock Holmes February 14, 2019 Sherlock Holmes said that when you’ve eliminated the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. So how can we apply this principle to Brexit between now and the deadline of 29 March? Here are the six things that we know for sure. One, there is no majority in the House of Commons [...]
Brexit requires Westminster to demonstrate clarity, compromise and collaboration February 14, 2019 Fewer than 50 days separate us from 29 March, the date that Britain is formally due to leave the European Union. It has been 22 months since Article 50 was triggered, and Brexit strategising and negotiations with Brussels have taken the nation on a journey that few could have predicted. Politically, Britain is currently locked [...]
Theresa May set for another showdown with Brexiter Tories in Commons vote February 13, 2019 Theresa May is set for another showdown with the pro-Brexit wing of her party on Thursday in a vote on the government’s negotiating strategy. The Prime Minister will ask MPs to vote in favour of a motion supporting the plan for reopening talks with Brussels, agreed to by parliament last month. While that involves backing the so-called [...]
‘We want a ladder to climb down’; MPs who voted down May’s deal are getting nervous February 13, 2019 Politicians arriving for work in Parliament these days are confronted with a less than perfect view of the Palace of Westminster. The iconic Elizabeth Tower, home of Big Ben, is sheathed in scaffolding as renovation work is carried out. Workers scurry up and down ladders, being careful not to get themselves trapped in positions from [...]
Brexit minister denies that delaying Article 50 is government’s strategy February 13, 2019 Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has pushed back against claims that the UK faces a choice between Theresa May's withdrawal agreement or a delay to Brexit. Last night, ITV reported that the Prime Minister’s chief negotiator, Olly Robbins, said MPs would be forced into a last-minute choice between May’s deal or a delay to Article 50, in [...]
DEBATE: Should Theresa May push for a compromise with Labour to get her Brexit deal passed? February 13, 2019 Should Theresa May push for a compromise with Labour to get her Brexit deal passed? Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First, says YES. Theresa May’s primary goal must be to avoid leaving the EU with no deal. That means that the government must stop behaving as if it has a rock-solid parliamentary majority, and [...]