‘Blind Brexit’ claim as PM ‘cuts her deal in half’

MPs are expected to be called back to the Commons on Friday in a move that could see Theresa May cut her Brexit deal in half in a desperate bid to get it ratified.

The prime minister wants parliament to meet to debate – on what is the original date Brexit was supposed to happen.

But government sources have ruled out bringing her deal back for a third “meaningful vote”.

It will confirm exactly what MPs will be asked to debate later today.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has hinted that only half of the Brexit deal will be brought back for a vote.

The EU agreed to Mrs May’s request to delay Brexit from 29 March, offering a new date of 22 May if the divorce element of her deal was backed by MPs.

The prime minister could hope that putting forward the divorce element and excluding the second half – a non-binding political declaration on the future UK-EU relationship – will help her meet that deadline.

Otherwise Britain faces a no-deal Brexit on 12 April or another delay that would mean participating in the European Parliament elections.

Ms Leadsom claimed that whatever motion the government brought forward on Friday would comply with the Speaker’s ruling that it must be substantially different to that defeated earlier this month by a mammoth 149 votes.

“The only way we ensure we leave in good time on 22 May is by approving the withdrawal agreement by 11pm on March 29, which is tomorrow,” she said.

Ms Leadsom crucially left out mention of the future relationship part and a government source has confirmed to Sky News there will not be a meaningful vote on Friday.

That sparked the theory that only half the deal will return to parliament this week.

Some MPs have significant concerns about the future relationship part, complaining it is not clear enough.

So Mrs May could hope she will get the crucial withdrawal agreement approved by only putting that to a vote.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News that such a move would create “the blindest of blind Brexits”.

“The problem in separating the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration is that both the EU and the PM have made clear that they are part of the ‘same negotiated package’ – so they can’t really separate them off at this stage.

“It creates an even bigger problem, which is you have a withdrawal agreement with no idea where you’re heading.

“I don’t know what the government’s going to do tomorrow but making a blind Brexit even more blind is not going to solve their problem.”

(c) Sky News 2019: ‘Blind Brexit’ claim as PM ‘cuts her deal in half’