MPs support Brexit delay but reject second referendum

The opposition Labour Party will not support today’s amendment calling for a second referendum, Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said.

“Today is about extension and about the process … the Labour Party is supporting the public vote on any deal that gets through by the Prime Minister, but today is about a different issue,” Starmer said.

The Labour Party threw its support behind a second Brexit referendum last month “to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country” after its proposed amendments to Theresa May’s deal were rejected.

After Speaker of the House John Bercow’s selection of an amendment calling for a second EU referendum caused an outcry from Brexiteers, the House of Commons released this video explaining the process. According to Bercow, this is what he considers in choosing an amendment for debate and, ultimately, vote: is it orderly, does it relate to the motion’s purpose, does it have a range of support, will it help the House reach a conclusion that might be helpful in considering the motion?

The People’s Vote campaign, a group pushing for a second referendum, has said that it is not asking its supporters to vote for an amendment calling for exactly that.

In a statement echoing a tweet from Alastair Campbell, a leading member of the People’s Vote, the group argues that now is not the time for MPs to vote for a second referendum.

Here’s the full statement:

Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, May’s de facto deputy, has reiterated the government’s opposition to a second EU referendum, which would require a longer Brexit delay.

Lidington said that holding another referendum “would reopen the divisions” seen in the 2016 vote and “damage the already fragile trust between the public and members of this House.”

He also warned that a delay beyond European elections, which take place at the end of May, would mean the UK would have to talk part.

Yes, an amendment has been selected that could tell the government that lawmakers favor Brexit being put to the public a second time. 

Yes, that amendment also says that remaining in the European Union must be on that ballot. 

But as with so many things Brexit, it would be helpful if lawmakers brushed up on a little thing we call “the law.”

For a second referendum to be called, it would have to pass an act of parliament. In short, that means a bill being put before lawmakers, the bill being read numerous times in both legislative chambers and a committee process. The question would also have to be tested by the Electoral Commission. 

Tonight’s vote is only indicative. It is currently considered unlikely to pass, and even if it does, it would do so with oven gloves on. An actual vote on a bill would be a different matter altogether. 

It would also mean a lengthy extension of the Brexit process, as holding a big public vote requires *a little bit of organizing*. For MPs worried of being accused of betraying the democratic will of the people, that will be a huge concern. 

Finally, that extension would have to be approved by European Union. There is a strange assumption in London that Europe wants a second referendum. What the EU wants is stability. A referendum does not provide that; voting for a Brexit deal does. 

Brexiteer MPs have hit out at Speaker of the House John Bercow’s decision to select an amendment calling for a second Brexit referendum.

Eurosceptic MP Mark Francois complained in parliament that Bercow failed to call another amendment ruling out another vote on the UK’s membership of the European Union, which was signed by more than 100 MPs.

Bercow responded that “members do have to take the rough with the smooth,” without going into detail on his selection process.

Another Conservative MP, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said there might be “some concern” over allowing MPs a vote on a second referendum.

UK Parliament has begun debating the government motion on whether to extend Article 50, the mechanism whereby member states can quit the EU, as well as amendments tabled by MPs.

Speaker of the House John Bercow has selected the following amendments, which MPs will begin debating shortly.

Amendment (h) Seeks an extension to Article 50 to give enough time to legislate for and hold a second referendum on whether to leave the EU, with remain and parliament’s preferred Brexit option on the ballot paper.

Amendment (i) Seeks to allow MPs to take control of the Brexit process.

Amendment (e) Notes that parliament has “decisively” rejected both Theresa May’s deal and no deal and calls for a delay to Brexit “to provide parliamentary time for this House to find a majority for a different approach.”

Amendment (j) Aims to stop a third meaningful vote on May’s deal.

British lawmakers have been given a vote on a second referendum, one of four amendments selected by Speaker of the House John Bercow.

US President Donald Trump has tweeted that he “looks forward to negotiating a large scale Trade Deal with the United Kingdom,” describing its potential as “unlimited,” just hours before another big Brexit vote.

If Britain’s parliament fails to agree a Brexit deal and does not secure an extension to Article 50, the UK will quit the EU and the bloc’s single market on March 29. Until it secures trade arrangements with individual countries, the UK would operate under WTO rules.

An opposition Labour Party politician has proposed an amendment to Theresa May’s motion to extend Article 50, which would effectively allow lawmakers to take control over parliamentary proceedings.

If passed, the amendment tabled by MP Hilary Benn would enable parliament to direct proceedings for a single day – Wednesday, March 20 – suspending House of Commons conventions that state the government controls the order of business.

The move, which would allow the Speaker of the House of Commons to call votes on certain amendments relating to Brexit at the end of that day, is timed carefully.

May is sure to table a third “meaningful vote” on her beleaguered Brexit deal before the EU convenes for a summit on March 21. The amendment anticipates that the agreement will fail a third time, and provides for parliament to express its view on Britain’s future relationship with the EU before the EU27 leaders meet to discuss Brexit.

The European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, who opposes a lengthy Brexit delay, has said that if Britain is to be granted an extension to the Brexit process, the government must set out its reasons clearly. “Under no circumstances” should the UK be granted “an extension in the dark.”

European Council President Donald Tusk said earlier in the day that he would back a “long extension,” if the UK decides that it needs it.

Nearly 9 out of 10 businesses say they want a delay to Brexit, the Confederation of British Industry has revealed, hours before lawmakers return to parliament to vote on just that issue.

A CBI survey of services, manufacturing and distribution sectors released on Thursday indicates that just 8% of 273 companies polled reject an extension to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.

“An overwhelming majority of businesses want an extension to Article 50 which should be as short as possible, but as long as is necessary,” Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said in a statement, adding that any extra time “must be used by MPs to finally craft a solution that protects livelihoods and communities across the UK.”

The survey of 273 firms found that:

The UK government has set out the parameters for extending Article 50 in a document published ahead of Thursday’s vote.

It states that in the event that the House of Commons votes for an extension, “it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to write to the President of the European Council, setting out why the UK was requesting an extension and for how long.”

The document also flirts with the possibility of the UK participating in the upcoming European Parliament (EP) elections in May, saying that if the UK were to request an extension period beyond July 1 the UK “would need to participate in the EP elections.”

UK Prime Minister Theresa May should back an Article 50 extension and use the delay to “rethink” her Brexit strategy, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter.

“If you are a Brexiteer, what does it say about your project if it has to be founded on a deal that a majority believes to be fundamentally flawed,” Sturgeon said. “That cannot be the way to proceed – which is why PM should accept defeat, change course and accept this opportunity for a rethink.”

Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union in 2016, two years after holding its own independence referendum on seceding from the United Kingdom (when it voted by 55% to stay).

But now, with the current political quagmire in Westminster, Sturgeon and other members of her Scottish National Party are calling for a second vote on independence.

Prime Minister Theresa May is facing calls to regain control of her party after Conservative ministers and Cabinet members defied her in Wednesday night’s vote.

“Her authority was openly defied by Cabinet ministers and other ministers,” Nigel Evans, a Conservative Brexiteer, told the UK’s Press Association, referring to May’s attempt to whip against her own motion.

A government source told CNN that once the Spelman amendment – rejecting a no-deal Brexit at any time and under any circumstances – passed, it made May’s motion unacceptable as it directly contradicted government policy. And when May tried to whip her ministers to vote against her own motion she lost.

“She needs to reassert her authority. We have to have collective responsibility in government, otherwise it just simply doesn’t work,” Evans added.

Another former Conservative minister, George Freeman, has suggested in a Twitter post that May should offer to resign in order to get support for her deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron at a press conference following a meeting at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, on March 13.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that any extension to Brexit could only be “technical,” ahead of a vote in UK Parliament on whether to delay the withdrawal process.

“If the British ask for a delay it could perhaps be a technical delay to allow more time to put their departure in place,” Macron, who is currently in Kenya, said.

But he added that the UK would need a reason for the European Union to grant them an additional delay “to ensure something will come out of it.” The heads of all 27 remaining EU countries would have to approve any request to extend Article 50.

“It cannot be to allow more negotiations over something we’ve already negotiated for many months and said cannot be further negotiated,” Macron said, underlining the EU position that they will provide no more concessions on the Brexit deal struck with Prime Minister Theresa May.

“The solution to this impasse is in London.”

Lawmakers have soundly rejected crashing out of the EU without a deal on March 29.

But last night’s vote against a no-deal Brexit would not actually prevent the UK leaving the EU on March 29, since Article 50, which mandates the UK’s departure, has already been triggered.

So, now that a “no deal” has been rejected, lawmakers will vote today on whether they support delaying the divorce process entirely.

If they back that, the PM will have to put in an Article 50 extension request to the EU.

The heads of all 27 remaining EU countries would have to approve any such request.

European Council President Donald Tusk has said he will back a Brexit delay, if the UK Parliament votes tonight to extend Article 50, the mechanism by which member states can quit the EU.

Tusk said in a tweet on Thursday that he would appeal to the 27 European Union leaders to “be open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it.”

If British lawmakers vote to delay Brexit tonight, Prime Minister Theresa May will have to put in an Article 50 extension request to the EU. The heads of all remaining EU leaders would have to approve any such request.

Today the UK Parliament will vote on another motion over whether to delay the divorce process beyond the March 29 deadline.

The government’s motion will ask MPs to back an extension until June 30, in order to pass EU exit legislation. Any extension would need to be approved by the EU.

The motion also points out that any extension beyond June 30 “would require the United Kingdom to hold European Parliament elections in May.”

Mid-morning: The House of Commons will begin debating the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

12 p.m.: European Commission, which is currently meeting in Strasbourg, will hold a midday press briefing.

5 p.m.: MPs start to vote, first on amendments, if any are selected, then on whether to extend the period specified in Article 50