Brexit live: May abandons last-ditch bid to save her Brexit deal
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Follow this page throughout the day for the latest Brexit news after MPs make audacious bid to seize control of Brexit agenda and May backs down on third meaningful vote.
Here's what you need to know:
– May abandons plans to put her deal before parliament for a third meaningful vote
– Government defeat last night paves the way for indicative votes on Brexit options
– Three ministers resign to back cross-party amendment
– EU has agreed to a delay of 22 May with a deal, or 12 April without a deal
5.10pm: MPs outline plans for alternative to May's deal
MPs have outlined plans to explore alternatives to May's Brexit deal as they prepare to embark on a series of indicative votes beginning tomorrow.
Labour MP Hillary Benn tweeted a copy of a business of the House motion for tomorrow, outlining debates on a series of different options.
twitter.com/hilarybennmp/status/1110565759674212352">
Indicative Votes: Text of the Business of the House Motion for tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/451tDmKdU7
— Hilary Benn (@hilarybennmp) March 26, 2019
Speaker John Bercow will ultimately decide which proposals are voted on, but they are expected to include options for a softer Brexit.
Voting will begin at 7pm tomorrow evening, and results will follow shortly after.
3.30pm: Sterling slips from Mogg highs as DUP appears to spike May's deal
Sterling has slipped back from its Mogg-inspired high after the DUP said it would prefer a long Brexit delay over backing Theresa Mays deal.
Hardline Brexiter Jacob Rees-Moggs decision to come out in favour of Mays highly unpopular Brexit deal sent the pound up against the euro and dollar, at €1.172 and $1.324 respectively.
But it has since fallen back to $1.323 and $1.171 after the DUPs Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson told media he would not support Mays withdrawal agreement.
“If we are forced into a one-year extension, we at least would have a say on the things which affect us during that time and would have the right to unilaterally decide to leave at the end of that one-year period through the simple decision of not applying for a further extension,” he said.
“Surely this is a better strategy than volunteering to be locked into the prison of the withdrawal deal with the cell door key in the pocket of Michel Barnier?”
However, the FT has reported that the DUP as a whole is not recommending an extension.
NEW:
Understand Sammy Wilson is not speaking on behalf of the whole DUP.
The party IS NOT advocating a long extension to Article 50.
Position remains unchanged. https://t.co/aJsy5ipEC2— Laura Hughes (@Laura_K_Hughes) March 26, 2019
2.01pm: MPs' Easter recess to be cancelled for Brexit debates
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom has suggested that MPs Easter break will be scrapped to focus on Brexit.
She told parliament this afternoon: “I have announced the dates for Easter recess. But, as is always the case, recess dates are announced subject to the progress of business.
“We will need time in the house either to find a way forward or to pass the withdrawal agreement bill, and I think the country will rightly expect parliament to be working flat out in either scenario. So further announcements on future recess dates will be announced in due course in the usual way.”
1.15pm: DUP 'would prefer long Brexit delay over May's deal'
The DUP would opt for a long delay to Brexit over backing Theresa Mays deal, it is reported.
The Prime Ministers confidence-and-supply partner would prefer an Article 50 extension of a year or more to supporting the controversial withdrawal agreement, Sky News said.
Some DUP members believe such an extension would necessitate a change in leadership, forcing May out of Number 10, Sky reported.
Talks over a so-called Stormont lock were abandoned last week over concerns hardliner Brexiters among the Conservatives would not support it.
The lock would mean any EU laws applied in Northern Ireland would be accepted by the rest of the UK under the arrangements of the so-called Irish backstop.
A longer extension and a new leader could engender a change of approach to Brexit, sources told Sky.
While a long extension must get the backing of all EU member states, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke out against it at last weeks EU summit.
The UK would need the EUs agreement to leave Mays controversial backstop, which ties the UK into a temporary customs union to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
But the DUP believes it would be better to stay a member of the EU for a longer period and choose simply not to renew membership, Sky reported.
12.40pm: Sterling rallies as Rees-Mogg appears to back May's deal
The pound has climbed 0.5 per cent against the euro to €1.172 after ERG chairman head Jacob Rees-Mogg said the choice left appeared to be either Theresa May's deal or no Brexit.
Sterling also rose 0.3 per cent against the dollar to $1.324.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The ERG chair said that it is very, very difficult to see the UK leaving the EU without a deal, and that, in his opinion, the choice is breaking down to Mays deal or no Brexit. "The pound would take either option, especially the latter," he added.
OFX currency analyst Hamish Muress said the pound would only enjoy "immediate relief" if the Prime Minister's deal was passed.
11.55am: Speculation grows that May could announce her departure date tomorrow
Speculation is mounting that May could use an address tomorrow to the Tory backbencher organisation the 1922 Committee to announcer her departure date.
May will reportedly speak to the group at 5pm on Wednesday.
The Sun's political editor tweeted.
Massive moment. The expectation among Tory grandees now is that PM uses the below to set a date for her resignation. https://t.co/UOOzxTRm2O
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) March 26, 2019
10.40am: Michael Fabricant says he could back May's Brexit deal
Luxuriantly coiffed Brexiter Michael Fabricant has also publicly stated that he could back May's deal in a sign that the ERG's hard line could be crumbling in the face of a resurgent House of Commons.
This is the dreadful conclusion I came to too – and said so at the ERG.
A new #PM can then negotiate a better and more distanced relationship with the #EU after #Brexit.
(Of course this is the least worst option but the only practical way forward for now.) https://t.co/3FjfBpPAjg— Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) March 26, 2019
10.02am: Jacob Rees-Mogg hints he could back May's Brexit deal
Arch Brexiter and head of the European Research Group (ERG) faction Jacob Rees-Mogg has strongly hinted he is coming round to May's Brexit deal.
The choice seems to be Mrs Mays deal or no Brexit.https://t.co/GggHZ7NEv5
— Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) March 26, 2019
"Inevitably leaving the European Union, even leaving it inadequately and having work to do afterwards, is better than not leaving it at all," he told Conservative Home.
"Perhaps the thought processes that people like me hadn't gone through before is the thought that Brexit is a process rather than an event," he said.
Read more: May suffers fresh Commons blow as MPs grab control of Brexit process
In his podcast, he added: "From a Eurosceptic point of view, from the point of view of somebody in my position, as one of the minority of MPs who really want to leave, we have to recognise that what we want and what we can deliver is not necessarily the same because of our lack of numbers. The ERG and other Eurosceptics in parliament cannot win any vote on our own …
"The Prime Minister does not want to leave without a deal. And the cabinet does not want to leave without a deal. And if parliament does not want to leave without a deal, it is therefore very, very difficult to see who you get to leaving without a deal, even though that is the law of the land."
9.55am: Former minister slams leave campaign
Former business minister Richard Harrington who resigned from the government last night has criticised the leave campaign which he called "one of the most dishonest campaigns in history".
Speaking to Sky, Harrington also said there was only a "minority of a minority in the Conservative Party led by mad economists who are totally discredited" who believe that no-deal will be good for the economy.
9.28am: Steve Brine publishes resignation letter
Winchester MP Steve Brine, one of three Conservative ministers to quit the government last night, has published his resignation letter this morning.
Brine said the threat of a no-deal Brexit and opposition to May's deal meant that a way forward must be found that has the support of parliament.
"My belief is that the only way to achieve that is by a series of 'indicative' votes and I want to support the amendment in the name of our colleague Oliver Letwin. At this stage in the endgame of the Brexit process, I was not prepared to vote against that (or another amendment which again makes clear our wish to avoid no deal) so the honourable thing was to leave the government tonight and vote accordingly," he said.
9.18am: Foreign office minister who resigned last night calls for free votes on Brexit
Foreign office minister Alistair Burt who resigned last night to vote against the government has called for MPs to receive free votes on Brexit.
Burt, one of three ministers to quite yesterday, said: "We are running out of time for an alternative, and the risk of leaving without a deal, and continuing serious and disruptive uncertainty is affecting the UK profoundly.
"Parliament should seek urgently to resolve the situation by considering alternatives freely, without the instruction of party whips, and government should adopt any feasible outcome as its own in order to progress matters. I did not believe the government was prepared to do that, so had to vote to ensure this happens."
The two other ministers to quit last night were Watford MP and minister for business Richard Harrington and Winchester MP and junior health minister Steve Brine.
9.10am: "Changing the prime minister doesn't solve anything"
Health minister Matt Hancock has backed Prime Minister Theresa May this morning following another tough evening for the government in the House of Commons.
Hancock told the BBC there was no point changing the prime minister at this stage in the Brexit process. He also said May's deal was the best option on the table.
"The best way through this impasse is the one deal that has been negotiated by the EU," he said.
Hancock said the government would take notice of the indicative votes on Brexit, "clearly we've got to listen to what the Commons says," he said.
However he added: "We can't pre-commit to following whatever they vote for."
"They might vote for something clearly impractical or they might vote for two things that are incompatible."
"If the Commons voted for the sun to rise in the West the government wouldn't be able to implement that."
Monday 25 March
3.42pm: May abandons last-ditch bid to save her Brexit deal
There is insufficient support for Theresa Mays Brexit deal to bring it to parliament for a third meaningful vote, the Prime Minister said today.
That means MPs have until 12 April to find a new way forward on Brexit, with the PM saying that the European Council has again said that there “could be no reopening of the withdrawal agreement”.
However, she will continue to canvas MPs in a bid to drum up support for her deal ahead of the extended Brexit deadline, she said.
The UK was due to leave the EU on 29 March until the EU agreed to an extension until 12 April at 11pm.
The lack of support delivers a crushing blow to her hopes to secure her withdrawal agreement, and gives MPs the chance to wrest control of Brexit from Mays hands.
She added that the government will oppose Sir Oliver Letwins amendment that could allow parliament to vote on a series of different directions it could take on Brexit.
Calling this an “unwelcome precedent”, May added that she is “sceptical” aboutthe approach which has only delivered “contradictory” outcomes in the past.
However, the government will give time for MPs to debate alternatives to her deal, the PM said.
1.20pm: May 'likely to hold third meaningful vote tomorrow'
The government is likely to press ahead with a third so-called meaningful vote on Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit deal tomorrow, according to reports.
May held a cabinet meeting this morning to decide on a route forward after a weekend of speculation that she could resign as Prime Minister.
If May's withdrawal deal is approved Brexit will be delayed until 22 May. But if MPs reject the deal it will be extended to just 12 April, by which time the UK must have agreed a new path forward.
ITVs Paul Brand tweeted this afternoon the PM is planning to hold the third meaningful vote tomorrow, but this has not yet been confirmed by Downing Street.
BREAKING: Understand PM going for Meaningful Vote 3 tomorrow. Only after that will she will consider indicative votes.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) March 25, 2019
No 10 source just got in touch to say a 'final decision' hasn't been taken on MV3 tomorrow.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) March 25, 2019
The Prime Minister is due to make a statement at 3.30pm, with meetings with both opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster before then.
But it has also been reported the DUP, which props up the Conservative government, has not changed its position, potentially hampering the chance of such a vote happening tomorrow. It is thought the DUPs support for Mays deal will be vital in pushing it through.
Cabinet source sRead More – Source
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