A Guide to the Brexit Amendments Parliament Votes on Today
Labour leader Corbyn’s calls for indicative votes on a range of Brexit options including a customs union.
(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s Parliament is voting again on Brexit, with the focus on whether politicians will finally wrest control of the process from Theresa May. Here’s a guide to Monday’s action in the House of Commons.
The Motion
After the deal she negotiated with Brussels was rejected for a second time, May was required to table a so-called neutral motion for members of Parliament to debate. It simply states that the House has considered the statement she made after losing that vote in March.
But MPs have made a series of proposals to rewrite May’s motion, known as “amendments,” three of which were selected by Speaker John Bercow. Voting begins at 10 p.m. They are:
Parliament Takes Control
An amendment laid by Tories Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve, and Labour’s Hilary Benn, will try to take control of Parliament’s agenda for a single day on Wednesday to allow so-called indicative votes on different Brexit options. This was defeated by just two votes last time, and is expected to pass tonight.
The idea is for MPs to be given a whole range of options, on paper, and they’ll be able to vote for all the alternatives that they could live with. This method is supposed to get around the game-playing that has seen MPs vote against ideas they could support, in order to promote their own idea. It will be referred to as “Amendment A.”
Corbyn’s Options
Similar to the Letwin/Grieve amendment, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s calls for indicative votes on a range of Brexit options including a customs union, a new version of a Common Market relationship with the bloc and for a second referendum. It will be referred to as “Amendment D.”
More Time
Opposition Labour lawmaker Margaret Beckett has put forward a change to the motion that if the U.K. comes within seven calendar days of leaving the EU without a deal, the government must allow MPs two more days of debate. This would force a vote on whether to leave with no deal or, again, whether to extend Article 50. It will be referred to as “Amendment F.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Alex Morales
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