Brexit debate will resume in the House of Commons today to find a majority for a way forward that breaks the current impasse. Prime Minister Theresa May said she hopes to hold a vote on her deal again this week. But so far, there is no signs the twice-defeated deal could make a turnaround. Instead, May could unveil plans to hold indicative votes.
The push for second referendum gained momentum over the weekend with with over a million people joined the “Put It To The People” March in London. Speakers at the rally included Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Separately, the “Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU” petition now gathered over 5.3M signatures.
It appears that Chancellor of Exchequer Philip Hammond doesn’t object to a referendum. He said: “I’m not sure there’s a majority in parliament in support of a second referendum… Many people will be strongly opposed to it, but it’s a coherent proposition and it deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.”
However, Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay warned that “at its logical conclusion, the risk of a general election increases because you potentially have a situation where parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do.”
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported that 11 unidentified senior ministers could try to oust May today as she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgment has “gone haywire”. Two leading candidate Cabinet Minister David Lidington and Environment Secretary Michael Gove backed May though. Also, it’s reported that hardline Brexiteer including Jacob Rees-Mogg & Iain Duncan Smith demanded May to set a timeline to step done for get their support on the Brexit deal.
With short Article 50 extension granted by EU last week, if UK parliament could approve a deal, Brexit is delayed to May 22. If no deal is approved, UK will have to leave with no withdrawal agreement on April 12, or provide an alternative.
