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UK PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has said that the House of Commons will hold a series of meaningful votes in the next few weeks to decide what form Brexit will take, including a potential vote on whether to delay Brexit.
It comes as her talks with the EU have so far failed to reach any breakthrough on the Irish backstop, which is vehemently opposed by members within her own party and the DUP.
She told the house today that, on or before Tuesday 12 March, a meaningful vote will be held on her withdrawal agreement with the EU. If parliament votes in favour of that, the UK will leave the EU with the deal in place.
If that withdrawal agreement is voted down, there will be another vote on Wednesday 13 March. This time, MPs will be asked whether or not they want to leave the EU without a deal.
If the House of Commons votes against a no-deal Brexit, however, there will be yet another vote held.
On Thursday 14 March, she said the government will table an amendment to seek a “short, limited extension to Article 50″. Extending Article 50 would mean that the UK does not leave the EU on 29 March, as it is currently set to do.
It has been reported that this would only be extended to late June/July.
She also said that her government would today publish a paper assessing the UK’s readiness for a no-deal Brexit.
“I believe if we have to we’d ultimately make a success of a no deal,” she said, to derision from the opposition benches. May added her preference is for her withdrawal agreement to pass through the House of Commons in the first vote on or before Tuesday 12 March.
The Prime Minister also took aim at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who yesterday signalled his backing for a second referendum.
She said: “He has gone back on his promise to honour the referendum… It would bring us right back to square one.”
Corbyn shot back that May’s further delay to a meaningful vote on Brexit was “grotesquely reckless” and was a “deliberate running down of the clock”.
“The withdrawal agreement is not being reopened,” he said. “She’s kicking the can down the road, but the road is running out.”
Corbyn added that if May’s deal in the first meaningful vote is approved, then it should be put to a “confirmatory” public vote.
Labour reaction in Ireland
Meanwhile, Labour party leader Brendan Howlin told reporters today that after meeting his UK counterpart in the UK Jeremy Corbyn over the weekend, he is pleased that Corbyn is now backing a new public vote on the Brexit deal.
He said the withdrawal agreement on the table is the best deal – but added that if there is “a real prospect” that the UK might not leave the EU after a second referendum, then the Irish government should “not be so wedded” to the idea of the withdrawal agreement “that they lose sight” of what a second referendum might achieve.
Howlin said the push for a second referendum is it will give the British public a chance to be presented with the final deal that has been negotiated and the choice to remain in the EU.
“There is no such thing as a good Brexit,” he said.
With reporting from Christina Finn
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Interesting read
Surprised that he considers himself too old to care about Repeal. He spent enough time writing about the varieites of damage done to indivduals by the Catholic Church and allied institutions. You’d think that he would follow through on this, simply as a citizen, forget about his being a writer. Nobody is asking him to write on behalf of Repeal or turn himself into a sociologist or poltician. Though a pity that writers now seem to think they shouldn’t air their politics. They could definitely make a useful contribution, given their imaginative and empathetic abilties. Probably a result of being brought up on Philomena Begley and The Bachelors rather than The Clash.
@andrew: I suspect that he doesn’t equate the repeal of the 8th with his views on the Catholic Church. Sensible man, they have nothing to do with each other.
@Justin Gillespie: you really think there is no connection between Catholicism and Repeal? Do you actually live in Ireland?
Pat once claimed, in song, that Bosco was a bollox. Who am I, a mere mortal, to disagree.
Interesting read, sadly hijacked by the Repeal commentators. It was just a couple of sentences and the rest of the content gets ignored.
I look forward to to reading his book.
PS
Grow the old beard back Patrick.
The cadence of this interview is very hard to follow. It is disjointed and probably needed more space to get the full measure of it.
Why is there a photo of Anthony Hopkins with this article?
‘Shay mouse, the mouse from Bornacoola’ – his masterpiece…
Also Pat was a great man for marking the class report at end of year everybody got excellent for everything he would never comment at the bottom of the report everything was just excellent with a tick. I am glad he found his calling in life as sure was not teaching.
Owl Pat was a teacher in Haddington Road not a very good one but a teacher none the less.My parents lord rest them despised him .
He use to sit in the class with his legs crossed & up on the table.
Joking by the way
have your say