The Catch-up: Theresa May suffers yet another Brexit humiliation
What happened?
Theresa May has told the House of Commons that there is “still not sufficient support” to bring her Withdrawal Agreement back for a third meaningful vote. The prime minister had been widely expected to present her divorce deal to MPs on Tuesday, but following a phone call with the DUP, it has become clear that she does not have enough votes to win the vote.
What could happen next?
Mrs May’s latest announcement represents yet another setback to her personal credibility. And she could suffer more humiliation tonight when MPs are expected to agree on a proposal to force a series of indicative votes on alternatives to her Withdrawal Agreement. ‘Indicative voting’ means MPs vote on a series of proposals — for example, leaving the EU without a deal; revoking Article 50; having a second referendum; leaving the EU but remaining part of the single market — in order to establish a parliamentary consensus.
However, Mrs May has infuriated MPs: first, by insisting Tory MPs vote against this; and second, by saying these indicative votes will not be binding. The fundamentals remain the same. If her deal is passed before Friday, Britain will leave the EU on May 22. If she is unable to get MPs to sign off her deal this week, then Britain will crash out without a deal on April 12.
Read more about this story
What are the government’s no-deal plans? (The Conversation)
PM concedes lack of support as MPs seek to take control (The Guardian)
Opinion: The Tory Party is assuring its own destruction (The Independent)
What will MPs vote on in Parliament this week? (The Telegraph)
On the day Theresa May had to battle to save her leadership, the prime minister told MPs there was “still not sufficient support” for her to bring back her Withdrawal Agreement for a third meaningful vote. We wanted to know how you rate her performance as PM – and the results so far don’t make good reading for Mrs May. Read the full story here (Yahoo News UK) and have your say below:
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