May to Put Divorce Deal Only to Vote on Friday: Brexit Update
But may is holding back the part of the package that focuses on the future trade and security relationship.
(Bloomberg) --
Theresa May will put her Brexit divorce deal to a vote in Parliament on Friday, but she’s holding back the part of the package that focuses on the future trade and security relationship.
The question is whether the British prime minister will win the vote this time, after her deal was rejected overwhelmingly on two previous occasions. She’s been trying to woo the Democratic Unionist Party in talks all day.
Key Developments:
- Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom says the government will put the exit deal to another vote on Friday, but not the political declaration on future ties
- Commons Speaker John Bercow rules May’s new motion is acceptable for another vote
- Votes in Parliament intended to break the deadlock didn’t produce a majority for any of the so-called Plan B options
- Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel sees possible EU summit on April 10 or 11
- EU starts talking about how it would reset relations after a no-deal; Britain would have to pay its bills and keep the Irish border open
DUP to Vote Against Divorce Deal on Friday: ITV (6 p.m.)
ITV’s Robert Peston said on Twitter that Theresa May’s Northern Irish DUP allies will vote against the government tomorrow.
It’s not a huge surprise, given the withdrawal agreement includes the so-called Irish backstop -- the main part of the divorce the DUP opposes.
Labour Says It Won’t Vote for Divorce Deal (5:40 p.m.)
The opposition Labour Party clearly isn’t buying May’s latest attempt to get her withdrawal deal past the House of Commons by separating it off from the political declaration on the U.K.’s future relationship with the EU.
Shadow Leader of the House Valerie Vaz said the government is “playing games,” while rank-and-file lawmaker Stephen Doughty said it “just looks to me like trickery of the highest order.” Mary Creagh described it with a very British term -- a “reverse ferret” --which means a sudden change of tactic.
Labour’s Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said on Twitter: “What the Government is doing is not in the national interest and that’s why we will not support it tomorrow.”
Earlier, Labour’s Hilary Benn asked if agreeing to the withdrawal agreement tomorrow would preclude the U.K. seeking a longer Brexit extension beyond May 22, because it would have failed to organize participation in the EU elections.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox responded: “this is clearly a matter which I will address tomorrow morning in full.”
May to Put EU Divorce Deal to Vote on Friday (5:10 p.m.)
Speaker of the Commons John Bercow announces that he will let May put her Brexit deal to another vote on Friday. But -- as we previously reported -- this will only be a vote on the withdrawal agreement, not the part of the deal that focuses on the future relationship.
“I am pleased to report to the House that the government’s motion for tomorrow’s debate complies with the test set out” in parliamentary rules, Bercow said in a statement to Parliament. He previously ruled that the government’s Brexit package needed to be substantially different from the proposals that Parliament had already rejected twice, by huge majorities.
Talks Continuing with DUP Over Brexit Vote (4:30 p.m.)
Theresa May’s team is in talks with the Democratic Unionist Party to find a way through the deadlock over her Brexit deal, the prime minister’s spokesman James Slack told reporters in Westminster.
“What we’re keen to do is build as much support as we can for getting agreement for the withdrawal agreement and the deal,’’ Slack said. “ I have always said that we will bring it back if we thought we had a realistic chance of success,’’ he said. “There is still work to do.’’
May Said to Plan Vote on Divorce Deal Only (4:15 p.m.)
May’s latest thinking is to put the Brexit withdrawal agreement to a vote in the House of Commons on Friday on its own -- without the accompanying declaration on future ties, according to a British official.
The Brexit deal that’s been rejected twice by Parliament already is in two parts -- the divorce deal and a non-binding political declaration on future relations. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said the deal couldn’t be put back to Parliament for a third time unless it’s substantially changed. One way of changing it could be to cut out the declaration on the future relationship.
But it would be up to Bercow to decide if the new format is acceptable. The EU agreed last week that as long as the withdrawal agreement is passed this week then the U.K. can delay departure day to May 22.
The government’s planning is still in flux, so the picture could still change before tomorrow.
EU Likely to Be Flexible on the Future Partnership (4:07 p.m.)
The EU won’t get too hung up on any attempt to split off the divorce treaty from the political declaration on future relations (see 12:30 p.m.). Legally speaking, only the former is a requirement for the U.K. to leave the bloc in an orderly way.
The political declaration isn’t legally binding in the same way as the divorce deal is -- it’s just a statement of intent to form a basis for negotiations on an overarching trade agreement in the years to come. The EU still says it’s prepared to increase or decrease the level of detail in the future partnership declaration, even in the next two weeks, if it helps.
At certain points over the past two years, May’s ministers promised a very detailed political declaration to help sell the package. Their thinking was that MPs would need to know exactly what they were buying. Then the thinking changed: a vague political declaration would enable Parliament to pass the divorce deal safe in the knowledge that it didn’t tie anybody’s hands for the future.
Starmer Suggests Labour Won’t Let May Split Deal (1:40 p.m.)
Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer had a message for May in his speech at the British Chambers of Commerce conference on Thursday: His party won’t support her deal even if she does try to separate out the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration (see 12:30 p.m.)
“If the prime minister tries to separate the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration altogether, that only makes matters worse,” Starmer said. “We would be leaving the EU, but with absolutely no idea where we are heading. That cannot be acceptable and Labour will not vote for it.”
He said May’s commitment to stand down makes Britain’s EU departure even more of a “blindfold Brexit” because the next phase of negotiations could be entrusted to a harder line Brexiteer. “It could be a Boris Johnson Brexit,” he said. “A Jacob Rees-Mogg Brexit. Or a Michael Gove Brexit.”
Could May Split Her Brexit Deal for Vote? (12:30 p.m.)
There’s an open question about whether May could split the Brexit package she’s negotiated with the European Union for a fresh vote. The two votes held so far -- which May has resoundingly lost -- have been on both the terms of departure (the withdrawal agreement) and on a non-binding political declaration on the U.K.’s future relationship with the EU.
Under the EU’s terms, May can secure a May 22 exit date if she gets the withdrawal deal -- not the full package -- passed by Parliament by the end of Friday. Her spokesman, James Slack, reiterated that to reporters on Thursday. When asked in Parliament whether the government planned to proceed in that way, Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom dodged the question.
The advantage of doing so for the government is the potential to win over some politicians in the Labour Party, whose objections center on the political declaration rather than the withdrawal agreement. But it risks repelling Conservatives who want certainty on the future relationship, and fear a so-called blind Brexit.
Another complicating factor is that under U.K. law, May does need to get provisions on the future relationship through Parliament, though by getting the withdrawal agreement ratified, she’d have until May 22 to do so.
Parliament Will Debate Brexit Deal Friday (12:05 p.m.)
Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom indicated the government intends to hold a third vote on the prime minister’s Brexit deal on Friday, though she didn’t use the phrase “meaningful vote.”
She said if lawmakers agree later today to a motion put forward by May allowing a Friday sitting, the House of Commons will sit from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.
The government is in talks with the speaker’s office about the wording of the motion, which will be published as soon as possible, she said. That’s because the speaker has said if the deal comes back for another vote it needs to be substantially changed since the last attempt.
“If agreed by the House, tomorrow there will be a motion relating to the U.K.’s exit from the EU,” Leadsom said. “The motion tabled will comply with the speaker’s ruling. But the only way we ensure we leave in good time on May 22 is by approving the withdrawal agreement by 11 p.m. on March 29, which is tomorrow.”
May Pushes for DUP Backing (11:45 a.m.)
May’s efforts still center on trying to drum up support for the Brexit deal the House of Commons has already twice resoundingly rejected, according to her spokesman James Slack. She’s met with colleagues this morning and will continue to hold meetings with lawmakers today, he said, adding that “discussions continue” with the Democratic Unionist Party.
“We are looking at what further assurances we could give to the people of Northern Ireland that in the unlikely event we were to enter into the backstop, Northern Ireland wouldn’t be in any sense left behind,” Slack told reporters in London. “Both parties consider the talks that have been taking place to have taken place in a good and constructive spirit and we’ll continue to have conversations” with the DUP.
He also suggested May won’t seek further concessions from the EU in order win over the DUP because “the EU have made any number of public statements that they consider the withdrawal agreement to be closed.”
EU Reminds U.K. of Deal Deadline (11:30 a.m.)
EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas reiterated that if the Withdrawal Agreement isn’t approved by the House of Commons this week, the U.K.’s Brexit extension will only run until April 12.
“We counted eight noes from the U.K., now we need a yes,” Schinas told reporters in Brussels, when asked to comment on last night’s so-called indicative votes in Parliament.
Michel Sees Possible EU Summit April 10 or 11 (10:30 a.m.)
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said EU leaders could meet on April 10 or April 11 if Theresa May doesn’t get the Brexit withdrawal agreement ratified by the British Parliament by tomorrow, as agreed at the summit last week. Michel spoke at a press conference in Brussels after his caretaker government held a special cabinet meeting on Brexit-related measures.
Brexiteer Bridgen Won’t Back May’s Deal (10:25 a.m.)
Pro-Brexit Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen said he remains staunchly against Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, and believes she will probably have to step down whether she can get it passed or not.
Power tends to drain away quickly once a leader says they intend to leave, Bridgen told RTE Radio on Thursday. He expects a longer delay to the Brexit process, with a general election likely within the next six months.
Earlier:
Brexit Stalemate Deepens as U.K. Fails to Agree on a Way Forward
U.K.’s Brexit Stalemate Deepens as Votes Show No Majority: Chart
The Biggest Brexit Loser This Time Wasn’t May: Therese Raphael
Brexit Bulletin: Back to Square One
--With assistance from Nikos Chrysoloras, Marine Strauss, Peter Flanagan, Jessica Shankleman, Robert Hutton and Kitty Donaldson.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs
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