And so MPs move on to vote against leaving the EU with no deal
Assuming that passes we move onto extending A50
So after last night’s excitement today’s focus is a new Commons vote at 7pm on ruling out the UK leaving the EU with no deal. Then we’ll get tomorrow’s Article 50 extension move.
Assuming that both motions will pass from tomorrow the effort will be made to extend the Article 50 deadline. The question then will be put to the EU which will need all remaining EU members to agree.
The overwhelming complication is the Euro elections at the end of May in which the UK could possibly have to participate assuming the A50 extension was for more than a short period. Already the UK’s MEP seats have been re-allocated and parties throughout the EU have or are finalising their candidate selections.
Another feature of all this is that at the June 23rd 2016 referendum took place with the unsaid premise that any exit envisaged a deal. Indeed there’s a lot of Vote Leave material out there which says just that.
It can thus be argued, as I did on Twitter this morning, that there’s no democratic mandate for a no-deal exit. The leading figures in the Leave campaign were just about unanimous in their view that the negotiation would be easy and without complication.
And while all of this goes on we have a PM who is unable to secure key votes in the House of Commons.
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