What happened?
A BREXIT fudge. Theresa May has staved off a rebellion which would possibly, even probably, have seen the government defeated.
What was it all about?
THE debate was about what would happen if MPs voted down the UK-EU Brexit deal, or if May announced, before January 21 2019, that no deal has been reached, or if January 21 passed without a deal being agreed. Under these circumstances, the government has said a minister will make a statement in Parliament, setting out the proposed next steps. MPs then have a vote on this statement.
So what’s the clash?
THE government want this to be a vote on “neutral terms” where MPs merely note what has been said. But on Monday, the House of Lords changed to the Bill to say that MPs should have to “approve” the minister’s statement. The government don’t want this. Giving parliament approval of Brexit could mean no Brexit.
What’s the concession?
GOOD question. Not all the Tory rebels think there has been one. But the Department for Exiting the European Union says that the Speaker John Bercow can now, if he wants, allow MPs to table an amendment to the government statement at the time.
What?
THE government can table a motion saying, “This House notes the statement”, but MPs can now table an amendment saying something like: “This House requires the government to return to Brussels to try again or negotiate EEA membership.”
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We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
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The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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