Search

UK Speaker John Bercow blocks more votes on unchanged Brexit deal

Citing a convention that dates back to 1604, Bercow said that the government could not repeatedly put the same motion before lawmakers if it had been previously rejected.
May's deal suffered a second, crushing defeat last week when it was rejected by a 149-vote margin.
"What the government cannot legitimately do is resubmit to the House the same proposition -- or substantially the same proposition -- as that of last week, which was rejected by 149 votes," Bercow said in an unannounced statement on Monday.
Third time lucky for Theresa May's Brexit vote?
Last week, after Members of Parliament rejected May's deal for a second time, they voted for the prime minister to seek an extension to the legal process of withdrawing from the European Union.
Bercow said that, in his view, the first two votes on May's Brexit deal were sufficiently different not to have broken parliamentary convention.
The Speaker did not set out what tests the government would have to meet if it was to submit the deal for a third vote. But he said that there would have to be "fundamental differences."
It is already being widely suggested that this could be achieved by the Prime Minister asking the House to vote on legal protocols in the event that the Irish backstop -- an insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland -- comes into effect.
May already faced an uphill task to get her deal past parliament, requiring 75 MPs to change their minds. In an effort to get her deal over the line, May's Cabinet ministers spent the weekend in talks with the Northern Irish Democratic Union Party (DUP). The DUP's 10 MPs, who prop up May's minority government, have so far opposed the deal. It is thought that if they switch sides, Brexiteer Conservatives will follow.
British PM pleads with MPs to vote Brexit deal through
It now seems likely that the Prime Minister will not attempt to hold a new vote on her deal until after a European Council summit in Brussels at the end of this week. She is expected to ask the remaining 27 EU member states for a delay to the withdrawal process.
Although it is unlikely to face opposition, the EU may propose a long extension to Brexit and require the UK to take part in the upcoming European elections in May.
The prospect of a lengthy delay beyond the scheduled departure on March 29 -- in just 11 days -- is causing alarm among hardline Brexiteer lawmakers who fear that it could turn into no Brexit at all.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from CNN.com - RSS Channel https://ift.tt/2JlFEkO

Bagikan Berita Ini

0 Response to "UK Speaker John Bercow blocks more votes on unchanged Brexit deal"

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.