THERESA May is under pressure to quit Number 10 this weekend.
The Prime Minister saw the Commons rejected her Brexit deal for a THIRD time yesterday afternoon. The defeat – May’s 18th as Prime Minister – prompted speculation that an early election could be coming soon.
MPs spurned the withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286, a margin of 58.
In a point of order immediately after the devastating result, May suggested she could come back to the Commons with the deal for a fourth meaningful vote, or MV4, but, she added, the Brexit debate was “reaching the limits of the process of this House”.
Addressing MPs, the Prime Minister said it “should be a matter of profound regret to every member of this House that once again we have been unable to support leaving the European Union in an orderly fashion”.
The implications, she said, were “grave”.
“The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on April 12, in just 14 days’ time.
“This is not enough time to agree, legislate for and ratify a deal, and yet the House has been clear it will not permit leaving without a deal. And so we will have to agree an alternative way forward.”
She added: “I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House.
“This House has rejected no deal. It has rejected no Brexit. On Wednesday it rejected all the variations of the deal on the table.”
Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn said the deal had to change. “An alternative has to be found. If the Prime Minister cannot accept that, she must go – not at an indeterminate date in the future, but now – so that we can decide the future of this country through a General Election.”
READ MORE: Brexit has highlighted the critical absence of courage at Westminster
That was echoed by the SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who said the Prime Minister had “failed to take this deal forward”.
“She does not have the confidence of the House. She has indicated her departure. She should now go, and we should have a General Election,” he said.
In a statement, the European Commission said “a no-deal scenario on April 12 is now a likely scenario”.
They added: “The EU has been preparing for this since December 2017 and is now fully prepared for a no-deal scenario at midnight on April 12. The EU will remain united.
“The benefits of the withdrawal agreement, including a transition period, will in no circumstances be replicated in a no-deal scenario. Sectoral mini-deals are not an option.”
European Council president Donald Tusk announced that there would be an emergency meeting of the EU leaders early next month.
That gives the UK 10 more days to either back May’s deal or come up with an alternative. Failure to do either will lead to a no-deal Brexit or a lengthy delay, which would mean Britain taking part in elections for the European Parliament.
Another round of indicative votes will be held in the Commons on Monday. There is a suggestion that later in the week there could be a run-off with the most popular option from the indicative votes pitted against the Prime Minister’s agreement.
Yesterday’s vote wasn’t technically “meaningful” as MPs were only debating the withdrawal agreement, the legally binding treaty setting out the divorce terms of Brexit.
Unlike in previous votes, there was no discussion on the political declaration, the other half of May’s deal. It sketches out plans for the future relationship between the EU and the UK.
READ MORE: Brexit: So where does Westminster go from here?
During the debate, Labour’s Ian Murray channelled an old Monty Python sketch. He told MPs: “It is quite clear that her deal is no more. It has ceased to exist. It is bereft of life. It rests in peace. It is a deal that has been nailed to its perch. It is an ex-parrot; it is an ex-deal.”
There was an early boost ahead of the debate for Downing Street on Friday morning when a number of hardcore Brexiteers announced they would hold their nose and vote for the deal.
Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab told MPs: “I cannot countenance an even longer extension and I cannot countenance holding European elections in May.”
All 13 Scottish Tory MPs backed the Government, including Ross Thomson. It wasn’t nearly enough, however, with 34 Conservatives opting to rebel.
Downing Street said May would continue to talk to the DUP. But the party’s leader at Westminster, Nigel Dodds, told BBC Newsnight political editor Nick Watt that their priority remained the Union.
“I would stay in the European Union and remain, rather than risk Northern Ireland’s position. That’s how strongly I feel about the Union.”
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