Parliament can vote on any Brexit delay, says May

British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday she would allow parliament to vote on March 14 on whether to delay Brexit if MPs reject both her deal and the prospect of leaving the EU without an agreement.

If those two options are rejected the government would put forward “a motion on whether parliament wants to see a short, limited extension to Article 50,” May said, adding that any delay could only be until the end of June.

The prime minister said she still wanted Brexit to happen on the scheduled date of March 29 and repeated her promise to hold a parliamentary vote on her deal on March 12.

If the deal is rejected, as it was overwhelmingly by parliament last month, the government would then hold a vote on March 13 on whether MPs want a no-deal Brexit.

The vote on a possible delay would be the following day.

“Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29,” she told parliament.

She added: “I believe that, if we have to, we will ultimately make a success of no deal”.

May said her new commitments were a response to MPs who were “genuinely worried about time running out”.

Six ministers have threatened to resign in recent days unless May rules out Britain crashing out of the European Union after 46 years with no agreement in place.

Earlier on Tuesday Prime Minister Theresa May faced the threat of more ministerial resignations over her refusal to rule out the possibility of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal on March 29.

Three junior ministers penned a letter in the Daily Mail urging May to delay Brexit if she fails to win concessions from Brussels over the withdrawal terms.

The warning comes after three more senior ministers published a similar letter over the weekend.

“We implore the government to take that step this week,” the ministers said in Tuesday’s letter.

“All of us were agreed that we couldn’t be part of a government that allowed the country to leave the EU without a deal,” one of the three, culture and media minister Margot James, told BBC radio.

“As D-day approaches, I think we felt honour-bound to actually do something to help prevent such catastrophe.”

The letter was also signed by business minister Richard Harrington and energy minister Claire Perry.

 

Parliament can vote on any Brexit delay, says May

British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday she would allow parliament to vote on March 14 on whether to delay Brexit if MPs reject both her deal and the prospect of leaving the EU without an agreement. If those two options are rejected the government would put forward a motion on whether parliament wants to see a short, limited extension to Article 50, May said, adding that any delay could only be until the end of June. The prime minister said she still wanted Brexit to happen on the scheduled date of March 29 and repeated her promise to hold a parliamentary vote on her deal on March 12. If the deal is rejected, as it was overwhelmingly by parliament last month, the government would then hold a vote on March 13 on whether MPs want a no-deal Brexit. The vote on a possible delay would be the following day. Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29, she told parliament. She added: I believe that, if we have to, we will ultimately make a success of no deal. May said her new commitments were a response to MPs who were genuinely worried about time running out. Six ministers have threatened to resign in recent days unless May rules out Britain crashing out of the European Union after 46 years with no agreement in place. Earlier on Tuesday Prime Minister Theresa May faced the threat of more ministerial resignations over her refusal to rule out the possibility of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal on March 29. Three junior ministers penned a letter in the Daily Mail urging May to delay Brexit if she fails to win concessions from Brussels over the withdrawal terms. The warning comes after three more senior ministers published a similar letter over the weekend. We implore the government to take that step this week, the ministers said in Tuesdays letter. All of us were agreed that we couldnt be part of a government that allowed the country to leave the EU without a deal, one of the three, culture and media minister Margot James, told BBC radio. As D-day approaches, I think we felt honour-bound to actually do something to help prevent such catastrophe. The letter was also signed by business minister Richard Harrington and energy minister Claire Perry.