Britain’s May Postpones Crucial Brexit Vote

Britain’s May Postpones Crucial Brexit Vote

Britain’s already disorderly departure from the European Union turned even more chaotic Monday when Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a House of Commons vote on her Brexit withdrawal deal, an agreement that took months of tortuous negotiations with Brussels to conclude, VOA news reports.

After four days of debate in the House of Commons and a panicky effort by the prime minister to sell the deal to an increasingly disapproving British public, lawmakers were set to rebuff May’s withdrawal agreement, a defeat that would likely have forced May out of Downing Street and possibly triggered the fall of the Conservative government.

While May insisted publicly on Sunday the vote on the withdrawal agreement, a deal she has staked her credibility on, would go ahead, her aides said Monday behind-the-scenes Cabinet ministers implored her not to plow ahead.

They urged her to return to Brussels instead to try to secure more concessions before the House of Commons has the final say.

They argued she was facing a parliamentary defeat of historic proportions and she needed to roll the dice. But Plan B — a dash back to Brussels to reopen negotiations on the 585-page deal — looks doomed.

On news of the postponement the already anemic pound crashed to its lowest level against the dollar in 18 months, it also fell against the euro.

Immediately on learning of the postponement, the European Commission ruled out re-negotiations as did some European national leaders.

“This deal is the best and only deal possible.We will not renegotiate the deal that is on the table right now. That is very clear,” said an EU spokesman.

“Our position has therefore not changed and as far as we’re concerned the UK is leaving the EU on the 29 March 2019. We are prepared for all scenarios.”

May’s contentious deal, which tries to square the circle between Britons who want to remain in the European Union and Brexiters who want a clean, sharp break with the bloc, would see Britain locked in a customs union with the European Union for several years while it negotiates a more permanent, but vaguely defined, free-trade settlement with its largest trading partner.

In the temporary customs union, Britain would be unable to influence EU laws, regulations, and product standards it would have to observe. It would be unable to implement free trade deals with non-EU countries, and Northern Ireland would be treated differently than other parts of Britain in order to avoid customs and immigration checks on the border with the Republic of Ireland.

That provision angers the province’s pro-British Unionists, who fear Northern Ireland’s ties with London will be diminished. May’s minority government relies on the backing of 10 Unionist lawmakers to get legislation passed.

But the Unionists aren’t the only ones furious with May over the deal. More than 100 Conservative lawmakers had announced their intention to vote against the withdrawal agreement, and analysts had calculated if the vote had gone ahead Tuesday, May would have been lucky to secure the support of 185 lawmakers with 409 voting against. No British prime minister has ever survived a parliamentary defeat of such a staggering margin.

The drama in London played out as the European Court of Justice said in an emergency ruling Monday Britain can stop the Brexit process without approval of other member states.

“The United Kingdom is free to revoke unilaterally the notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU,” the ECJ said. But the court added that it could only do so as the result of a House of Commons vote, a referendum or a general election.

The ruling has boosted the hopes of Remainers that Brexit can be reversed.”It is time to put the whole issue back to the public,” said Chris Leslie, a senior Labour lawmaker.

While May loyalists reacted to the postponement with relief, hardline Brexiters in the British parliament as well as Remainers said it would only delay the inevitable, regardless of whether May manages to get Brussels to agree some changes. They said any amendments to the withdrawal agreement wouldn’t be sufficient to secure a House of Commons majority.

“Putting off the vote won’t change anything,” said Peter Bone, a Conservative lawmaker.

It is unclear when a Brexit vote in the House of Commons might now take place. Some government managers said the vote could take place next week or even be delayed until next month.