Victory for soft Brexit? MP claims they’ve won the right to block no-deal Brexit
UK PM Theresa May has agreed to a compromise with Tory remainers, agreeing to offer parliament a vote on any future steps in Brexit talks if Britain fails to broker a deal by mid-February, a source has revealed.
Leading Remainer-rebel Anna Soubry tweeted her delight with the reported outcome: “Dominic Grieve should be hailed a hero for what he has achieved for democracy,” she said. “Deal or no deal parliament will have a meaningful vote and to be clear there will be no hard #Brexit when the EU Withdrawal Bill is passed.”
Former Attorney General Grieve, who is leading the revolt, insisted that MPs must have the power to prevent a “no deal” divorce from EU – threatening the PM with parliamentary defeat if she refused.
Multiple Tory Remain MPs earlier in the week threatened to rebel over whether parliament should have more say over a final deal agreed with the EU in Brussels. They had planned to vote against a government proposal, which they believed did not offer them a "meaningful vote."
In the final moments on Tuesday, the opposing Tory factions came to a compromise. The deal was interpreted by some as a step away from a hard Brexit, reducing the chances of crashing out of the EU without a deal.
Speaking before the official publication of the new proposal, one source confirmed that a deal had been reached. The source added that the government would give MPs the right to block a Brexit no-deal if the UK and EU fail to come to an agreement by mid-February.
The government has always said that parliament would have a meaningful vote. Debate, however, has raged for months over what that actually means.
Foreign Affairs Committee chairman and senior Tory MP Tom Tugendhat claimed the protection was unnecessary because May would face the chop anyway if Brexit resulted in a no-deal, stating that there would be “a new government.”
A No.10 spokesman hit back, saying: “We have to be in a position to honor the result of the referendum in all circumstances.”
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