On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May’s government aggressively solicited a series of votes in the House of Commons; This is to determine which solution the Parliament would give its approval if it rejects the present withdrawal agreement. Downing Street No. 10, the seat of the Prime Minister, rejected this plan. The Head of Government herself vehemently opposed the idea of a second referendum in the House of Commons; it would „betray the confidence of the people“ and inflict „irreparable harm“ on British policy, she said.
For the idea referendum influential politicians such as former Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair, but also a group of conservative backbens to Attorney General Dominic Grieve for months. In October, around 700,000 people took to the streets in London. The fact that the prime minister used her statement on the recent EU summit, especially for a polemic against the referendum, evaluated the editor of the conservative magazine Spectator, Andrew Neil, as a great success of the lobbyists.
In her assessment that „further clarification and discussion“ is possible in talks with the European partners, May met with widespread skepticism in Parliament. Last week, the Community of 27 reaffirmed its unity behind the withdrawal agreement and political future agreement agreed with Britain. A spokeswoman for the European Commission said in Brussels that there were „no new appointments“ with the British.
Hope for concessions
The proposed lower house vote on the outcome of the negotiations had postponed May last week; it should take place around the 15th of January. Cross-party, the rejection is considered likely. In this case, more than half a dozen ministers are now in favor of the series of votes that would allow a way out of the impasse.
The House of Commons preference would be for one of the following solutions: a Chaos Brexit with no Deal; a solution à la Norway, ie remaining in the internal market and customs union without voting rights in the EU; or the second referendum, but it still needs to be clarified which question would be asked.
The prime minister and her remaining loyal government members, however, cling to the possibility of further concessions by the EU. It is mainly about the problem of the so-called catch-up solution for Northern Ireland. This should only come into force if both sides do not agree on a far-reaching free trade agreement in time, that is before the end of the transitional phase. Many British MPs want to limit their time: they fear that Brussels will not negotiate seriously if there is no pressure on the EU. (Sebastian Borger from London,
