Tories Plotting to Thwart No-Deal Brexit Prepare New Attack
Whether they can succeed is the most pressing question now facing investors and U.K. businesses.
(Bloomberg) -- British Conservatives plotting to thwart a no-deal Brexit will make another attempt this week to stop the next prime minister from forcing a chaotic break with the European Union without Parliament’s consent.
Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, a veteran anti-Brexit rebel in the Conservative Party, plans to amend a bill going to Parliament on Monday. He wants to ensure the House of Commons is sitting in October so the next premier can’t suspend the legislature to pursue a no-deal exit -- a radical idea that’s been floated as a way of bypassing lawmakers.
Boris Johnson, the front-runner to replace Theresa May, has vowed to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31, “do or die,” even if he hasn’t secured a divorce agreement to smooth the split. Fearing the economic chaos that would follow a no-deal split, “30 plus” Tory lawmakers are seeking to deploy the tools of Parliament to prevent it, Tory MP Sam Gyimah told Sky News on Sunday.
Whether they can succeed is the most pressing question now facing investors and U.K. businesses. The pound has weakened 1.5% since May said she’ll stand down, amid growing concern about a crash-out departure.
Grieve and his allies from other parties are in discussions about forcing a vote on Tuesday on the second day Parliament debates the bill, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Unlikely Allies
The opposition Labour Party has also vowed to work to prevent a no-deal exit. May has hinted she would join the Conservative rebels if a new prime minister tried to overrule Parliament, as has Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. Johnson has said he wouldn’t want to suspend Parliament, but hasn’t ruled it out.
Grieve will use the Northern Ireland Bill as a vehicle for his latest ploy. He will call for the government to update lawmakers in October on progress restoring power-sharing to the province, which has been without an executive for more than two years. Grieve justified using that bill as he said the fate of Northern Ireland is linked to how Brexit turns out.
“The chances are, if Brexit goes through, a no-deal Brexit, it is going to be the end of Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom, with serious political consequences flowing from it,” he told BBC radio on Sunday. Therefore it’s “perfectly legitimate” to use the bill as vehicle for debating the consequences of no-deal, he said.
Grieve’s last attempt to block a no-deal Brexit by cutting off spending to government departments was thwarted when Speaker John Bercow didn’t select his plan for a vote.
Bercow’s decisions have been controversial, with pro-Brexit government ministers accusing him of anti-Brexit bias. Justice Secretary David Gauke argued Bercow could be key in ensuring the view of Parliament is upheld.
Gauke, who hinted he would quit the government before Johnson took over, said he was optimistic no-deal could be blocked. He cited “a speaker who is perhaps prepared to be innovative,” and “a clear majority in Parliament that is against no-deal.” He told BBC radio: "I think Parliament will find a way through.”
Mail Ballot
As 180,000 members of the Conservative Party start to return postal ballots deciding the party’s next leader, their choice is between two candidates who both want to renegotiate the Brexit deal May struck with the EU, and say they will walk away without a deal if Brussels doesn’t engage.
The new prime minister is expected to be announced -- and then take office -- during the week of July 22.
Jeremy Hunt, the underdog candidate, has said he’s prepared to delay Brexit if a good deal were within reach. He has toughened his rhetoric during the campaign as he tries to win over the overwhelmingly euroskeptic Tory grass-roots members.
Burnishing his Brexiteer credentials again at the weekend, Johnson said he’s “not bluffing” about leaving by Oct. 31. He has said that preparing for no-deal is the best way to secure a rewrite, even though the EU has repeatedly said it wouldn’t renegotiate.
“They have to look deep into our eyes and think, ‘My God, these Brits actually are going to leave. And they’re going to leave on those terms,”’ he told the Sunday Telegraph.
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, Emma Ross-Thomas, Tony Czuczka
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