Babak Belurs

Kamis, 04 April 2019

UK narrowly votes to delay Brexit again — but the EU could refuse - CNBC

In another nail-biting vote in the U.K.'s Parliament, lawmakers voted by a majority of just one to force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek an extension to the Brexit process and avoid a no-deal departure.

Members of Parliament (MPs) voted for the draft legislation on Wednesday evening to prevent a shock no-deal exit on April 12 (the date of a new deadline granted by the EU) by 313 votes to 312. The bill will need to be approved by the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords, to become law.

Despite last night's vote in favor of a delay to Brexit, it's far from certain that the EU will grant the U.K. an extension when European leaders meet next Wednesday, April 10, at an emergency summit dedicated to Brexit.

The U.K. was originally meant to leave the EU on March 29 but granted more time by the EU. Ahead of the U.K. Parliament's vote last night, the European Commission President Jean-Claude reiterated that April 12 was the final date for the approval of the Brexit deal and that no short extension would be possible.

MPs have rejected May's Brexit deal three times now, and a selection of alternative Brexit options have also failed to win a majority of support.

May's talks with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn Wednesday also failed to reach any compromise or consensus. Whatever happens next, experts expect a longer delay to Brexit and more political and economic uncertainty.

"As an American watching this from afar, we thought this would be done by now and I think what we're increasingly coming to terms with is that no matter what agreement is agreed right now, this is going to be a long-term process because Britain is divided," Christopher Smart, head of macroeconomic and geopolitical research at Barings, told CNBC Thursday.

A decision over an extension won't be taken lightly; the EU does not want to be blamed for scuppering a Brexit deal and a disorderly Brexit could harm its own interests — but so too could an extension in which the uncertainty surrounding future relations is prolonged.

May continues talks with Corbyn on Thursday but if they cannot agree a compromise deal there are expected to be more parliamentary votes on what course Brexit should take. The ball is in Europe's court over whether it will afford the U.K. more time if needed (and as expected) especially as it would mean that the U.K. will have to participate in European Parliament elections between May 23-26.

That could be an unappealing prospect for many politicians in Europe already wary of the rise of populist party politics — the same forces that fomented euroskeptic sentiment in the U.K. ahead of the 2016 referendum on EU membership.

While German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled Wednesday that she was willing to grant an open extension to allow for an orderly Brexit. Her counterpart in France, President Emmanuel Macron, is not so keen on a delay and the potential disruption that could cause, however.

"It is far from clear whether an extension will be forthcoming," Stefan Auer, associate professor in European Studies at the University of Hong Kong, told CNBC Thursday.

"Merkel seems to be willing to grant it but she'll need to persuade Macron in France that that is in the EU's interests and I remain skeptical of that strategy, it will cause so much mess for the EU and the U.K. it will prolong the agony," he told CNBC's "Capital Connection."

Auer said it would be a "nightmare" for the EU if the U.K. took part in EU parliamentary elections in May as it would boost euroskeptics in the region. "The EU, at its heart, is a voluntary association of nation states and the credibility of that claim would be greatly diminished if the perception is created that the U.K. is somehow not allowed to leave."

"It would not only create a political mess in the U.K. … It would also have massive political repercussions in continental Europe so I think EU leaders will be wary of that prospect — but they're equally wary of a no-deal Brexit," he said.

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2019-04-04 08:17:38Z
CAIiEB4uLoT5CaVUKI4SeVOSU9oqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMP3ungY

Rabu, 03 April 2019

May to meet UK opposition leader for Brexit compromise talks - Washington Post

LONDON — Britain’s Brexit drama went into overtime Wednesday as Prime Minister Theresa May and the country’s main opposition sought a compromise deal to prevent an abrupt British departure from the European Union at the end of next week.

In an about-face that left pro-Brexit members of May’s Conservative Party howling with outrage, May sought to forge an agreement with left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn after failing three times to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal.

May also said she would ask the EU for a further delay to Britain’s departure date — postponed once already — to avert a chaotic and economically damaging no-deal Brexit on April 12.

“The country needs a solution, the country deserves a solution, and that’s what I’m working to find,” May told lawmakers before meeting with Corbyn for about two hours.

Afterward, both the government and Labour called the meeting “constructive” and said their teams would hold more in-depth talks Thursday.

May’s office said both sides had shown “flexibility and a commitment to bring the current Brexit uncertainty to a close.”

Corbyn, more muted, said “the meeting was useful but inconclusive.”

“There hasn’t been as much change as I expected,” he said.

May’s change of direction left her caught between angry Conservatives who accuse her of throwing away Brexit, and Labour opponents mistrustful of her sudden change of heart.

Labour lawmaker Paul Sweeney said May’s outreach to his party “shows the desperation that she’s in.” He said May wanted Labour “to bail her out of a position she’s dug herself in.”

Pro-Brexit Conservatives, meanwhile, expressed outrage. Two junior ministers quit, and other lawmakers angrily accused May of putting the socialist Corbyn in the Brexit driver’s seat.

Her cross-party talks — after almost three years of seeking to push through her own version of a Brexit divorce deal — came amid EU warnings that a damaging withdrawal without a plan was growing more likely by the day.

After lawmakers three times rejected an agreement struck between the bloc and May late last year, the leaders of the EU’s 27 remaining countries postponed the original March 29 Brexit date and gave the U.K. until April 12 approve the divorce deal or come up with a new one.

So far the House of Commons has failed to find a majority for any alternative plan.

“A no deal on 12 April at midnight looks more and more likely,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday, adding that would bring disruption for EU citizens and businesses, but much worse economic damage for Britain.

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said a “no-deal” Brexit would mean long lines at borders and paperwork headaches for customs checks on the 11,000 vehicles entering and leaving Britain each day.

“I prefer strict controls at the price of a few lines of trucks to a health crisis or illegal trafficking,” he said. “The security of Europeans will be our top priority.”

May’s pivot toward Labour points Britain toward a softer Brexit than the one she has championed since British voters decided in June 2016 to leave the EU. Labour wants the U.K. to remain in the EU’s customs union — a trading area that sets common tariffs on goods coming into the bloc while allowing free trade in goods moving between member states.

May has always ruled that out, saying it would limit Britain’s ability to forge an independent trade policy.

May’s decision to negotiate with Corbyn is risky for both the Conservatives and Labour, and could widen divisions over Brexit that run through both parties.

Labour is formally committed to enacting the voters’ decision to leave the EU, but many of the party’s lawmakers want a new referendum that could keep Britain in the bloc. They will be angry if the party actively helps bring about the U.K.’s departure.

Meanwhile, May’s move infuriated pro-Brexit Conservatives who say Britain must make a clean break with the EU in order to take control of its laws and trade policy.

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Brexit “is becoming soft to the point of disintegration.” Ex-Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said he was “absolutely appalled” by May’s talks with Corbyn.

Junior Wales Minister Nigel Adams quit his post, criticizing May for seeking a deal with “a Marxist who has never once in his political life out British interests first” — a reference to the left-wing Corbyn.

He was followed by junior Brexit minister Chris Heaton-Harris, who said in his resignation letter that the government “should have honored the result of the 2016 referendum” and left the EU on March 29.

Meanwhile, pro-EU lawmakers were not banking on talks between May and Corbyn succeeding.

They sought a legal lock to ensure May could not go back on her promise to seek a delay to Brexit rather than let Britain tumble out of the bloc.

A bill being debated Wednesday would compel May to seek to extend the Brexit process beyond April 12 in order to prevent a no-deal departure. Its backers hope to push the bill through into law before May attends an April 10 summit in Brussels where EU leaders expect to hear details of Britain’s new Brexit plan.

EU leaders, weary of the whole Brexit circus, gave a cautious welcome to May’s attempt at rapprochement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would work “until the last hour” to secure an orderly Brexit, but stressed that “these solutions have to be reached above all in Britain itself.”

Britain’s televised political melodrama over Brexit — with its weeks of passionate debates, narrow votes and seemingly endless crises — has left EU leaders exasperated, but also fascinated.

The EU’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, joked that “the sessions in the House of Commons have become more popular than the matches in the Premier League.”

“The trouble is that it is always a draw in the House of Commons,” he said.

___

Casert reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

___

Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

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2019-04-03 18:11:15Z
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The Latest: May loses another minister over Brexit moves - WTOP

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Britain’s departure from the European Union (all times local):

5:40 p.m.

A Brexit-related vote in Britain’s House of Commons has ended in a tie, the first time that has happened in a quarter-century.

In an illustration of politicians’ deadlock over Britain’s exit from the European Union, Wednesday’s vote ended in a 310-310 draw.

Under Parliament’s rules, the speaker of the House has tie-breaking power. Speaker John Bercow cast his vote with the noes. He said that was in keeping with the principle that “it is not for the chair to create a majority that otherwise doesn’t exist.”

The result means lawmakers have rejected the idea of holding a third day of voting on alternative Brexit options Monday.

Bercow says the last time a vote in the Commons ended in a tie was in 1993.

___

4:25 p.m.

Another minister has quit British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government over her decision to seek a Brexit compromise with the opposition.

Chris Heaton-Harris, a junior Brexit minister, said Wednesday that May “should have honored the result of the 2016 referendum” to leave the European Union and withdrawn as planned on March 29.

The EU extended that long-scheduled date to April 12 at May’s request, and the prime minister says she plans to ask for even more time.

Heaton-Harris published his resignation letter to May saying “every time we seek an extension to this process we diminish faith in our political system.”

Another junior minister, Nigel Adams, resigned earlier Wednesday over May’s handling of Brexit.

May announced Tuesday that she would seek a compromise with opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, after Parliament rejected her EU divorce deal three times.

___

3:50 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is underlining her pledge to work “until the last hour” to secure an orderly Brexit but says it is primarily up to Britain to come up with solutions.

Merkel said Wednesday averting a chaotic Brexit is “in the interest of Britain but, above all, also in our own interest.” She plans to visit Ireland on Thursday to discuss among other things that country’s border with the U.K.’s Northern Ireland, one of the most complicated issues in Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Merkel said after meeting regional officials in eastern Germany: “These solutions have to be reached above all in Britain itself, of course … you can see that there are really intensive efforts, but you can also see that there are simply very diverse ideas.”

___

2:35 p.m.

The European parliament’s top Brexit official says despite the chaos in British politics, the U.K. has given the continent one great thing: an amazing TV show.

Guy Verhofstadt compared the live transmission of the often raucous debates on Brexit in the House of Commons to Premier League soccer — one of the biggest British products the U.K. is transmitting to the continent.

He says the Brexit debate sessions “have become more popular even than the matches in the Premier League in Europe.” He went on with the metaphor, saying “the only difference is that it is always a draw there in the House of Commons,” referring to the repeated stalemates over Brexit that have paralyzed British politics.

Verhofstadt was hopeful that talks Wednesday between British Prime Minister Theresa May and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn would finally yield a breakthrough.

___

1:35 p.m.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says he doesn’t yet see a reason to grant Britain another delay to its withdrawal from the European Union, but is welcoming British Prime Minister Theresa May’s efforts to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

Britain has either to leave the EU April 12 or propose an alternative course of action, and all 27 other EU countries would have to sign off on a further delay to Brexit. In Vienna Wednesday, Kurz stressed the importance of avoiding a no-deal Brexit but noted nothing has actually changed yet.

Kurz said: “There is, at present, no reason at all for an extension because the chaos in Britain hasn’t changed. There is no plan B that has a majority in Britain’s lower house, so speculation about an extension would at the moment be pure speculation.”

Kurz added that he hopes the situation will change. He said: “Let’s keep our fingers crossed for Theresa May in her efforts.”

___

1 p.m.

The European Union’s top economy official is warning of long lines at borders and paperwork headaches for obligatory customs checks if Britain crashes out of the bloc without an agreement.

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Wednesday that Britain would become a third country overnight, creating “instantaneous and very radical legal change.”

He says that around 11,000 vehicles enter and leave the U.K. daily via the Eurotunnel rail service or ferries. EU countries estimate that paperwork would rise by 40-50% in the case of a no-deal.

But Moscovici says “I prefer strict controls at the price of a few lines of trucks to a health crisis or illegal trafficking. The security of Europeans will be our top priority.”

___

9:05 a.m.

European Union lawmakers say British citizens should be allowed to travel in Europe visa-free after Brexit but only if the U.K. grants the same right to EU citizens, as the bloc prepares for Britain’s possible departure without a deal.

The EU’s Civil Liberties Committee voted overwhelmingly Wednesday — 38 votes in favor, 8 against and 3 abstentions — to allow tourism or business trips.

The move permits stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but does not grant the right to work. The full parliament is likely to endorse the decision Thursday.

EU officials say it is “very likely” that Britain will depart without a deal, bringing potentially devastating political and economic consequences.

The Europeans are publicly stepping up their no-deal planning, increasing pressure on the U.K. parliament to find a compromise.

___

9 a.m.

Britain’s Brexit secretary says the government is not offering a “blank check” to the opposition after Prime Minister Theresa May offered to meet with the Labour Party leader in hopes of ending the impasse over the U.K.’s departure from the European Union.

Steve Barclay told the BBC on Wednesday that some Labour proposals, such as a customs union with the EU, would be “very difficult” for the government to accept but both sides need to sit down and work out an agreement to avoid a damaging no-deal Brexit.

Barclay said: “We’re not setting pre-conditions, but nor is it a blank check.”

But he added that the “remorseless logic” of Parliament’s failure to back the prime minister’s withdrawal agreement with the EU is that Britain must move toward a softer form of Brexit.

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2019-04-03 16:41:15Z
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What next? UK’s May, opposition seek elusive Brexit concord - Washington Post

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May has brought a new word to the Brexit lexicon: compromise.

May met Wednesday with opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to try to avoid Britain’s chaotic departure from the European Union in little over a week.

The shift came after lawmakers rejected the government’s Brexit deal on three occasions and twice failed to agree on any other option.

What might happen next:

NO DEAL

If Britain can’t break its Brexit impasse, it risks crashing out of the EU in nine days.

Last month, the EU agreed to postpone the original departure date of March 29, but gave Britain only until April 12 to pass a deal, come up with a new plan and seek a further extension, or leave without an agreement or a transition period to smooth the way.

Most politicians, economists and business groups think leaving the world’s largest trading bloc without an agreement would be damaging for the EU and disastrous for the U.K. It could lead to tariffs imposed on trade between Britain and the EU, and customs checks that could cause gridlock at ports and shortages of essential goods.

A hard core of pro-Brexit legislators in May’s Conservative Party dismiss this as “Project Fear” and argue for what they call a “clean Brexit.” But most lawmakers are opposed to leaving without a deal. Parliament has voted repeatedly to rule out a “no-deal” Brexit — but it remains the default position unless a deal is approved, Brexit is canceled or the EU grants another extension. The bloc says it will only do that if Britain comes up with a new Brexit plan.

___

A COMPROMISE DEAL

After almost two years of negotiations, Britain and the EU struck a divorce deal in November, laying out the terms of the departure from the bloc and giving a rough outline of future relations.

But it has been thrice rejected by Parliament amid opposition from lawmakers on both sides of the Brexit divide. Pro-Brexit lawmakers think it keeps Britain too closely tied to EU rules. Pro-EU legislators argue it is worse than the U.K.’s current status as an EU member.

On Tuesday, May she said she would be prepared to compromise with her Labour opponents to try to win their backing for the withdrawal deal. That’s likely to include a pledge to keep closer economic ties with the bloc than she has long advocated.

___

SOFT BREXIT?

May’s offer of opposition talks suggest she is pivoting to a softer form of Brexit than the one she has described for almost three years.

May has always insisted Britain must leave the EU’s single market and customs union in order to forge new trade deals around the world, but those ideas have strong opposition support.

Tweaking her deal to adopt a customs union, which would ensure seamless trade in goods with the EU, could gain May valuable votes in Parliament.

It also would probably be welcomed by the EU and would allow Britain an orderly departure in the coming months.

However, it could also create a schism in the Conservative Party, leading to potential resignations of pro-Brexit government ministers.

That instability increases the chance of an early British election, which could rearrange Parliament and break the deadlock.

___

BREXIT DELAYED

May has conceded that Britain will need a further delay to its departure in order to sort out the mess and avert a “no-deal” departure.

The EU is frustrated with the impasse and has said it will only grant another postponement if Britain comes up with a whole new plan.

Both Britain and the EU are reluctant to have the U.K. participate in May 23-26 elections for the European Parliament but have signaled it could happen if necessary.

EU Council President Donald Tusk has urged the bloc to “be patient” and give Britain a Brexit extension if it plans to change course.

___

BREXIT RECONSIDERED

This week, Parliament narrowly rejected a proposal for a new referendum on whether to leave the EU.

The proposal for any Brexit deal to be put to public vote in a “confirmatory referendum” was backed by opposition parties, plus some of May’s Conservatives.

The government has ruled out holding another referendum, saying voters in 2016 made their decision to leave.

But with divisions in both Parliament and in May’s Cabinet, handing the decision back to the people in a new plebiscite could be seen as the only way forward.

___

Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

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2019-04-03 15:12:39Z
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UK Brexit chief says May not offering a blank check in talks - go.com

Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of Britain's main opposition party were meeting Wednesday for talks on ending the impasse over the country's departure from the European Union — a surprise about-face that left pro-Brexit members of May's Conservative Party howling with outrage.

After failing three times to win Parliament's backing for her Brexit blueprint, May dramatically changed gear Tuesday, saying she would seek to delay Brexit — again — and hold talks with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to seek a compromise.

"The country needs a solution, the country deserves a solution, and that's what I'm working to find," May told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Corbyn said he welcomed May's "willingness to compromise to resolve the Brexit deadlock" and looked forward to talks with her.

May's bid for cross-party talks — after almost three years of seeking to push through her own version of Brexit — came amid EU warnings that a damaging no-deal Brexit is growing more likely by the day.

After British lawmakers three times rejected an agreement struck between the bloc and May late last year, the leaders of the EU's 27 remaining countries postponed the original March 29 Brexit date and gave the U.K. until April 12 approve the divorce deal or come up with a new plan.

So far the House of Commons has failed to find a majority for any alternative plan.

"A no deal on 12 April at midnight looks more and more likely," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday, adding that would bring disruption for EU citizens and businesses, but much worse damage economic for Britain.

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said a no-deal Brexit would mean long lines at borders and paperwork headaches for customs checks as Britain became separate from the EU overnight.

"I prefer strict controls at the price of a few lines of trucks to a health crisis or illegal trafficking," he said. "The security of Europeans will be our top priority."

Juncker said if Britain approved the Brexit divorce deal by April 12, Britain could have a short extension until May 22 to prepare for an orderly departure. After that, he said, a short delay to Brexit would no longer be possible.

May's pivot toward Labour points Britain toward a softer Brexit than the one she has championed since British voters decided in June 2016 to leave the EU. Labour wants the U.K. to remain in a customs union with the bloc to ensure frictionless trade. May has always ruled that out, saying it would limit Britain's ability to forge an independent trade policy.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the "remorseless logic" of Parliament's failure to back the prime minister's deal was that the country was heading toward a softer form of Brexit.

May's decision to negotiate with Corbyn is risky for both the Conservatives and Labour, and could widen divisions over Brexit that run through both parties.

Labour is formally committed to enacting voters' decision to leave the EU, but many of the party's lawmakers want a new referendum on Brexit that could keep Britain in the bloc. They will be angry if the party actively helps bring about Brexit.

The Conservatives are even more bitterly split between those who want to keep close economic ties with the EU and Brexiteers who say Britain must make a clean break in order to take control of its laws and trade policy.

The Brexit-backers condemned May's shift. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Brexit "is becoming soft to the point of disintegration." Ex-Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said he was "absolutely appalled" by May's talks with Corbyn.

Junior Wales Minister Nigel Adams of the Conservative party quit his post, sending the prime minister a letter criticizing her for seeking a deal with "a Marxist who has never once in his political life out British interests first" — a reference to the left-wing Corbyn.

"It is clear we will now end up in the customs union. That is not the Brexit my constituents were promised," Adams wrote.

Meanwhile, pro-EU lawmakers are not banking on talks between May and Corbyn succeeding. A group of legislators intent on avoiding a no-deal Brexit are trying to ensure that Britain cannot crash out of the EU, either by accident or by design.

A bill scheduled for debate Wednesday would compel May to seek to extend the Brexit process beyond April 12 in order to prevent a no-deal departure. Its backers hope to push the bill through into law before May attends an April 10 summit in Brussels where EU leaders expect to hear details of Britain's new Brexit plan.

EU leaders have given a cautious welcome to May's attempt at rapprochement.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said "there is no Plan B" with a majority in Britain's Parliament.

"Let's keep our fingers crossed for Theresa May in her efforts," he said in Vienna.

Britain's televised political melodrama over Brexit — with its weeks of passionate debates, narrow votes and seemingly endless crises — has left EU leaders exasperated, but also fascinated.

The European Union's Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, joked that "the sessions in the House of Commons have become more popular than the matches in the Premier League."

"The trouble is that it is always a draw in the House of Commons," he said.

———

Raf Casert in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this story.

———

Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

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2019-04-03 11:48:45Z
CBMiXWh0dHBzOi8vYWJjbmV3cy5nby5jb20vUG9saXRpY3Mvd2lyZVN0b3J5L3VrLWJyZXhpdC1jaGllZi1vZmZlcmluZy1ibGFuay1jaGVjay10YWxrcy02MjEzMjk4NtIBqAFodHRwczovL2FiY25ld3MtZ28tY29tLmNkbi5hbXBwcm9qZWN0Lm9yZy92L3MvYWJjbmV3cy5nby5jb20vYW1wL1BvbGl0aWNzL3dpcmVTdG9yeS91ay1icmV4aXQtY2hpZWYtb2ZmZXJpbmctYmxhbmstY2hlY2stdGFsa3MtNjIxMzI5ODY_YW1wX2pzX3Y9MC4xI3dlYnZpZXc9MSZjYXA9c3dpcGU

Brexit: Theresa May to meet Jeremy Corbyn to tackle deadlock - BBC News

All MPs have a responsibility to deliver Brexit, Theresa May has said, responding to criticism from her own MPs over talks with Jeremy Corbyn.

The PM said the public "expect us to reach across this house to find a way through this".

Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the PM's "willingness to compromise to resolve the Brexit deadlock".

The PM's move to hold talks has angered some Brexiteers, with Wales Minister Nigel Adams resigning his role.

In his resignation letter, Mr Adams said the government was at risk of failing to deliver "the Brexit people voted for".

The PM is also due to meet Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford.

Ms Sturgeon has called for a long extension to work out the way forward - and a public vote on any deal - and Mr Drakeford has said he wants to argue for a closer long-term economic relationship with the EU.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mrs May drew criticism from some Tory MPs over her planned talks with the Labour leader.

She said "every member of this house is involved in Brexit", adding: "I want to deliver Brexit, I want to deliver it in an orderly way, I want to do it as soon as possible... to do that have to get an agreement through the house."

Mrs May stressed that MPs had "rejected every proposal so far".

She said there were a "number of areas" she agreed with Mr Corbyn on in relation to Brexit, including ending free movement.

Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the prime minister's "willingness to compromise to resolve the Brexit deadlock" and was looking forward to meeting her later on Wednesday.

But he added: "Let's work to resolve Brexit deadlock, but unless this government tackles insecure work, low pay… this government will be marked down for what it is - a failure in the eyes of the people in the country."

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said she has seen a motion that would censure the prime minister and other government ministers for their handling of Brexit, saying this is a "taster of the anger around".

Following the PM's announcement on Tuesday, prominent Brexiteer Boris Johnson accused Mrs May of "entrusting the final handling of Brexit to Labour".

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith also criticised the move.

But Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay blamed hard Brexiteers in the ERG who refused to back the PM's deal.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the alternative to the PM's deal was to seek votes from the opposition benches "because 35 of my own colleagues would not support the prime minister's deal".

He said the consequence of MPs not passing the PM's deal was either a "soft Brexit or no Brexit at all".

Mr Barclay said the EU has said the withdrawal agreement is the only deal available, adding that Labour had expressed more concern about the future relationship - which is contained within the separate political declaration.

The withdrawal agreement includes how much money the UK must pay to the EU as a settlement, details of the transition period, and citizens' rights - as well as the controversial Irish backstop that aims to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The political declaration sets out proposals for how the UK's long term future relationship with the EU will work after Brexit.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said there was not much difference between the government's version of Brexit and Labour's version - but there did not seem to be "an enormous amount of confidence" a political consensus could be reached from either party.

Ms Sturgeon has urged Mr Corbyn to be "very, very wary" over reaching a Brexit agreement with the prime minister, warning that anything agreed could by unpicked by Mrs May's successor.

She told the BBC: "We all have to be cautious that we are not falling into a trap by a prime minister who is desperate to get her withdrawal agreement almost at any cost."

It comes after Mrs May had more than seven hours of talks with her cabinet on Tuesday.

Laura Kuenssberg said there was "rage and dispute" in the cabinet meeting, with "wildly varying accounts" of how many people were for and against different versions of Brexit extensions.

Labour has previously said it has five tests for judging any final Brexit deal, including protecting workers' rights, establishing a permanent customs union with the EU and securing the same benefits of being in the single market the UK has currently.

Labour's five demands for supporting a Brexit deal

Later in Parliament

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs will attempt to push through legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit.

If passed into law, the bill - presented by Labour MP Yvette Cooper - would require the PM to ask for an extension of Article 50.

House of Commons: Wednesday's approx timings for cross-party bill

14:00 BST - Debate on a bill designed to ensure the government seeks a delay to Article 50 and stop no deal in law due to begin

19:00 - A second reading vote on the bill

22:00 - Committee stage starts (this stage usually starts within a couple of weeks of a bill's second reading) and finally third reading vote

Thursday - Bill is expected to be considered by the House of Lords

The UK has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU - which must be accepted by the bloc - or it will leave without a deal on that date.

Mrs May said she wanted to agree a new plan with Mr Corbyn and put it to a vote in the Commons before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

She insisted her withdrawal agreement - which was voted down last week - would remain part of the deal.

If there is no agreement, Mrs May said a number of options would be put to MPs "to determine which course to pursue".

In either event, Mrs May said she would ask the EU for a further short extension to hopefully get an agreement passed by Parliament before 22 May, so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

What has been the reaction to the PM's offer?

European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt tweeted: "Good that PM Theresa May is looking for a cross-party compromise. Better late than never."
President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called for patience.

The DUP's chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told BBC Radio Ulster that regardless of what emerges in the coming days, the party's stance on the union was "un-persuadable".

She was for budging. The prime minister has made her priority leaving the EU with a deal, rather than the happy contentment of the Brexiteers in the Tory party.

For so long, Theresa May has been derided by her rivals, inside and outside, for cleaving to the idea that she can get the country and her party through this process intact.

But after her deal was defeated at the hands of Eurosceptics, in the words of one cabinet minister in the room during Tuesday's marathon session, she tried delivering Brexit with Tory votes - Tory Brexiteers said "No".

Now she's going to try to deliver Brexit with Labour votes. In a way, it is as simple as that.

Read Laura's full blog here

Wednesday 3 April: Theresa May likely to begin talks with Jeremy Corbyn; cross-party group attempts to rule out no-deal in law
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek / EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47796377

2019-04-03 11:37:44Z
52780259358685

Brexit: May expected to meet Corbyn to tackle deadlock - BBC News

Theresa May is expected to meet Jeremy Corbyn later after she said she wanted to work with the Labour leader to break the Brexit deadlock.

The prime minister hopes the two of them can come up with a modified version of her deal with the EU that can secure the backing of MPs.

Mr Corbyn says he wants a customs union and workers' rights to be priorities.

But Tory Brexiteer Boris Johnson has accused Mrs May of "entrusting the final handling of Brexit to Labour".

Jacob Rees-Mogg, another prominent Brexiteer, described the offer as "deeply unsatisfactory" and accused Mrs May of planning to collaborate with "a known Marxist".

Mrs May announced her plan to meet Mr Corbyn - as well as her intention to ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline - after more than seven hours of talks with her cabinet on Tuesday.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says the latest move means the prime minister is likely to adopt a closer relationship with the EU - a softer Brexit - than she has agreed so far.

Mr Corbyn said he was "very happy" to meet Mrs May and recognised his own "responsibility" to try to break the deadlock.

But the meeting is not expected to take place before this afternoon, at the earliest, says our political editor, who was told by Mr Corbyn's team that he was not available on Wednesday morning for talks with the PM.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs will attempt to push through legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit.

If passed into law, the bill - presented by Labour MP Yvette Cooper - would require the PM to ask for an extension of Article 50 beyond that deadline.

The UK was supposed to leave the EU on 29 March, but Mrs May agreed a short extension after MPs refused to endorse her withdrawal deal.

Attempts by MPs to find an alternative way out of the impasse also failed for the second time this week.

The UK now has until 12 April to propose a plan to the EU - which must be accepted by the bloc - or it will leave without a deal on that date.

Mrs May said she wanted to agree a new plan with Mr Corbyn on the future relationship with the EU and put it to a vote in the Commons before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

She insisted her withdrawal agreement - which was voted down last week - would remain part of the deal.

If the two leaders do not agree a single way forward, Mrs May said a number of options would be put to MPs "to determine which course to pursue".

In either event, she said she would ask the EU for a further short extension to the Brexit date to hopefully get an agreement passed by Parliament before 22 May so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

The final decision on a delay rests with the EU. The BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler said that its demands had not changed and it was "likely to put strict conditions on any further extension".

European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt, who has previously said he thought a no-deal Brexit was "nearly inevitable", welcomed Mrs May's offer of talks with Mr Corbyn.

"Good that PM Theresa may is looking for a cross-party compromise. Better late than never," he tweeted.

She was for budging. The prime minister has made her priority leaving the EU with a deal, rather than the happy contentment of the Brexiteers in the Tory party.

For so long, Theresa May has been derided by her rivals, inside and outside, for cleaving to the idea that she can get the country and her party through this process intact.

Now she's going to try to deliver Brexit with Labour votes. In a way, it is as simple as that.

Read Laura's full blog here

Labour has previously said it has six tests for judging any final Brexit deal, including protecting workers' rights, establishing a permanent customs union with the EU and securing the same benefits of being in the single market the UK has currently.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the two leaders must find common ground quickly.

She did not rule out a confirmatory public vote on any agreed deal, saying only that Labour was approaching the conversations with "an open mind".

Pressed on whether Labour would be looking to make changes to the Withdrawal Agreement, which the EU has said it was not willing to renegotiate, she said: "We need to examine all Parliamentary machinery."

Andrea Jenkyns, a member of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, said she did not believe Mr Corbyn would work with the prime minister on a revised deal.

"He just wants chaos and wants to get into Number 10," she told the Today programme.

Asked what she would do in the event of a vote of no confidence in Mrs May's leadership, Ms Jenkyns said: "That takes a lot of thinking about."

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party - which helps prop up Mrs May's government but has repeatedly voted against her deal - said: "It remains to be seen if sub-contracting out the future of Brexit to Jeremy Corbyn, someone whom the Conservatives have demonised for four years, will end happily."

However, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, himself a leading Brexiteer, said he backed the talks with Labour because he "wanted to ensure that minds are concentrated so that we do leave".

After Mrs May's statement, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called for patience.

European leaders have been intensifying plans to cope with a possible no-deal, particularly surrounding the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Wednesday 3 April: Theresa May likely to begin talks with Jeremy Corbyn; cross-party group attempts to rule out no-deal in law
Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek / EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47796377

2019-04-03 08:02:01Z
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