There’s more Brexit drama ahead. The UK Parliament will vote Tuesday in an attempt to gain more control over the Brexit process. They will do this by putting forth a series of amendments that could shift power away from Prime Minister Theresa May’s government and back to members of Parliament when it comes to how, and maybe when, the UK breaks up with the European Union. That’s the plan, at least. Whether Parliament will succeed, and which faction will prevail — the hardline pro-Brexit camp, or those who’d prefer a softer Brexit (or none at all) — are both open questions. More than a dozen amendments have been proposed so far. More can still be introduced, and many will probably get withdrawn before the vote because they won’t have a chance in passing Parliament. Even amendments that could succeed — including a fairly popular amendment proposed by the opposition Labour Party that would delay Brexit if a deal isn’t approved end of February — are going to be very, very tight votes. A lot can happen between now and the voting on Tuesday, which is expected to start around 7 pm GMT (or 2 pm EST). But for now, here’s a breakdown of the vote and why it’s happening. It seems like there’s a Brexit vote every week. Here’s what this latest one is about. On January 15, Parliament voted against May’s Brexit deal by a startling margin of 230 votes. May then had to deliver her so-called “Plan B” — that is, her next steps on Brexit — which she did, on January 21. May’s Plan B sounded a lot like her Plan A: She didn’t offer any concrete changes, but said she’d work more closely with Parliament on determining the post-Brexit EU-UK relationship and on finding a solution to the “Irish backstop,” a guarantee to ensure an open border between Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) and Ireland (which is part of the EU) after Brexit, which hardline Brexiteers strongly oppose. (Check out this video or this explainer for more on this.) May’s rather uninspired Plan B wasn’t a total surprise: The European Union has pretty much always said that this Brexit deal was the only one on offer, and May so far hasn’t been willing to entertain dramatic alternatives, such as a second referendum to give the public a say over the Brexit process. But now Parliament gets to chime in. Members of Parliament — both Conservative “backbenchers” (those who aren’t part of May’s government) and Labour and other opposition MPs — will get to tack on their alternatives Brexit. Okay, but what does Parliament “taking control” of Brexit actually mean? Parliament has introduced a slew of amendments. They include everything from asking May to go back and renegotiate terms of her deal with the EU to attempts to avoid a no-deal Brexit, a scenario where the UK crashes out of the EU without any agreement or transition period in place. There are two broad categories these amendments fit into. The first are ones that essentially instruct May’s government on what Parliament wants to see in any Brexit deal. For instance, one amendment seeks to replace the “Irish backstop” in the current deal with unspecified “alternative arrangements.” The second type of amendments is those that seek to take control of the process by setting new rules on what Parliament can do between now and current Brexit deadline of March 29, 2019. For example, one amendment, introduced by Labour MP Yvette Cooper, aims to avoid a catastrophic no-deal Brexit by forcing the prime minister to request an extension of the Brexit deadline if Parliament hasn’t approved a Brexit deal by February 26. Jack Simson Caird, an expert on UK law at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law in London, said it’s the second type of amendment that could end up having significant influence on the Brexit process. Those amendments are “about taking power practically, rather than persuading the government to change its position,” Simson Caird said, which is what the other group of amendments is trying to do. Amendments like the one Cooper has proposed don’t get into specifics about what May’s deal should look like, it just says there has to be a deal. And if May can’t deliver one, that amendment is basically Parliament saying, “We’re not monkeying around now. We’re just going to take over,” Simson Caird explained. But both categories of amendments will likely put political pressure on May — and could send a potentially powerful message about what Parliament is, and isn’t, willing to accept when it comes to Brexit.<doc-sep>Members of the Westminster Parliament are once again voting on a Brexit motion and amendments Thursday evening as both the British government, and parliamentary rebels work to keep hold of, or derail the Brexit process. The Prime Minister’s so-called neutral government motion which declares “discussions between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland backstop are ongoing” will be voted upon after a debate in Parliament, but was rumoured to be the subject of a Brexiteer revolt earlier in the day. Pro-Brexit MPs of the European Research Group had earlier said they could vote against the motion because it eliminates the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, they claim, one of the few remaining potent negotiating advantages the British still hold. By Thursday evening it seemed the group had softened its stance, deciding to abstain on the vote rather than vote against their own party leader, Sky News reported. The lack of their votes still means the government is likely to be defeated, however, as the Prime Minister’s majority is so slim. In addition to government business, the speaker of the house John Bercow has also allowed three amendments which members will vote on in turn. The first is Amendment A, tabled by Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn that is intended to require the government to hold another so-called meaningful vote in the next two weeks. The intended impact of this is to prevent the Prime Minister ‘running down the clock’ — leaving the vote until the very last minute in late March to force Members of Parliament into backing her deal. Another is an amendment by Conservative pro-remain rebel Anna Soubry, who has tabled a non-binding motion that would request the government release a Cabinet briefing prepared to inform ministers on the perceived impact of no-deal Brexit. Finally, a motion by the Scottish National Party would ask the government to postpone Brexit by three months or more. Again, this would not be binding on the government. UPDATE 1800 — Associated Press Update British Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered an embarrassing parliamentary defeat on Brexit as lawmakers remain resistant to her EU divorce plan. The House of Commons voted 303 to 258 on Thursday against a motion reiterating support for May’s approach to Brexit – support expressed by lawmakers in votes just two weeks ago. The defeat is symbolic rather than binding stresses how weak her hand is as she tries to secure changes to her divorce deal from the EU in order to win backing for it in Parliament. The government was defeated when the members of a pro-Brexit faction in the governing Conservatives, the European Research Group, abstained because they feel the government is effectively ruling out the threat of leaving the EU without a deal. May is struggling with little sign of success to win backing for her deal from both pro-Brexit and pro-EU lawmakers in Parliament, which rejected the agreement by a whopping 230 votes last month. The U.K. is due to leave the EU on March 29. UPDATE 1745 — Government motion defeated 258-303 Labour front benchers cheered as they defeated the government’s motion. Responding to the news, Jeremy Corbyn said “once again, the government has been defeated”, and said May could not “keep running down the clock” towards March 29th, chastising the Prime Minister for not being in the chamber for the vote. Oof. The Government chief whip is livid. He just walked out of the chamber, shaking his head at ERG-ers on his own benches. He’s now walked back in again looking for the PM (who is here somewhere but not on the front bench…) — Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) February 14, 2019 UPDATE 1732 — Soubry withdraws her amendment Tory anti-Brexit rebel Anna Soubry has withdrawn her amendment that would have requested the government publish advice it had received on a no-deal Brexit at the last moment. This reportedly comes after Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay agreed to discuss the government releasing them without her vote — perhaps a shrewd move on the government’s behalf. The vote moves swiftly on, therefore, to the government’s ‘neutral’ motion that Parliament recognise that negotiations are ongoing, and the potential for the ERG to inflict a defeat on Theresa May. UPDATE 1731 — SNP Amendment fails 93-315 Less of a surprise that the SNP’s amendment failed given they only have 35 MPs out of 650 in the house. Had the vote passed, the amendment would have called on the government to suspend or revoke article 50, the legal mechanism by which the United Kingdom will depart the European Union on March 29th. Under their plan, Brexit would have been put back to June 29th. The idea is by delaying Brexit by weeks or months it will give the government more time to come to an agreement over the withdrawal — however as has been pointed out several times by key Brexiteers, “delay is code for stopping Brexit.” Once the legally enshrined date of March 29th is moved and abused, Brexiteers worry, it could be perpetually set back every time it is approached in future, forever kicking the Brexit can down the road until remainer politicians are able to scupper it altogether. Rees-Mogg: ‘Delay’ Is Code for Stopping Brexit https://t.co/ctZ0Mof2ZH — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 4, 2019 UPDATE 1715 — Corbyn Amendment fails 306 – 322 The Labour Party’s amendment has failed to pass, but only by a very narrow margin. It appears that Theresa May has managed to gather enough votes this evening, despite members of the Eurosceptic European Research Group threatening to vote against the government, or at least abstain in votes. Had it passed, the motion to the EU withdrawal motion would have called on the government to bring another meaningful vote on the 26th of this month, in effect limiting the Prime Minister’s ability to ‘run down the clock’ on Brexit business. Next up is Ian Blackford’s SNP amendment. More follows…<doc-sep>Required the government to either give MPs a vote on the withdrawal agreement and political declaration on future UK-EU relations by 27 February, or make a statement saying there is no longer an agreement in principle with Brussels and so allow MPs to vote on - and amend - its planned next steps.<doc-sep>What Do They Say? The most hyped amendment, offered by Yvette Cooper of the Labour Party and the Conservative Nick Boles, is designed to make it more difficult for Britain to leave the bloc without a deal. If Parliament has not agreed to a deal by the end of February, the amendment says, Parliament should get a chance to vote on delaying Brexit, possibly for a few months or even until the end of the year. That would cheer a broad coalition of lawmakers who are aghast at the likely economic fallout of a no-deal exit, along with those who want to buy time for a second public vote on whether Brexit should happen at all. An amendment offered by a Conservative lawmaker, Graham Brady, would give Parliament’s backing to a harder-line Brexit. It is designed to force Mrs. May to scrap the “backstop” plan that at least temporarily binds Britain and, to a greater extent, Northern Ireland to European trading rules. (That plan is meant to avoid customs checks on the historically contentious border between Ireland, a member state of the European Union, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.) What those warring amendments have in common is that they give clear signals about what Parliament does not want — a no-deal exit, in one case, or temporary ties to the European Union, in the other — without charting a course for what Mrs. May should negotiate instead. And there are many more. An amendment offered by a Conservative lawmaker, Dominic Grieve, would set aside six days before March 29, the Brexit deadline, for Parliament to debate a wide array of Brexit plans. Labour’s official amendment would let Parliament weigh in on the party’s preferred Brexit deal, which includes stronger and more lasting ties to the European Union’s single market, and says lawmakers should get to vote on whether to hold a second public vote on Brexit.<doc-sep>
British Prime Minister Theresa May was defeated in a symbolic vote in parliament on her Brexit strategy on Thursday, undermining her negotiating strength in talks with the European Union to secure changes to the agreement. Lawmakers voted by 303 to 258 to reject a motion asking them to reaffirm support for May's plan to seek changes to her Brexit deal. Many pro-Brexit members of her Conservative Party planned to abstain on the vote as they feared she was softening her position on a no-deal departure. The defeat is symbolic rather than binding stresses how weak her hand is as she tries to secure changes to her divorce deal from the EU in order to win backing for it in Parliament. May is struggling with little sign of success to win backing for her deal from both pro-Brexit and pro-EU lawmakers in Parliament, which rejected the agreement by a whopping 230 votes last month. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said the defeat "shows there is no majority for the PM's course of action in dealing with Brexit." "She cannot keep on just running down the clock and hoping that something will turn up that will save her day and save her face," he said of May, who was not in parliament for the defeat. Leading Brexiteer Liam Fox earlier warned colleagues that defeat would raise doubts about whether a renegotiated deal could get through parliament, making the EU less likely to make an offer. "Our European partners will be watching our debate and listening today to see if they get the impression that if they were to make those concessions parliament would definitely deliver," trade minister Fox told BBC Radio 4. "There's a danger that we send the wrong signals." Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer accused May of deliberately wasting time to ramp up pressure to pass her deal, and warned that MPs would not let her leave without a deal. "As for the Prime Minister, taking us out of the EU on the 29th of March of this year without a deal -- we'll see about that. "I think the majority in this House will do everything they can to prevent that," he added. May's initial deal was roundly rejected by British MPs last month, but later parliamentary votes suggested a slim majority for her deal if she could get rid of the backstop clause. The provision is intended to keep the border with Ireland free-flowing but some fear it could leave Britain trapped in EU trade rules indefinitely with no withdrawal mechanism. British officials have since held a series of meeting with EU counterparts, who have ruled out reopening negotiations. "The talks are at a crucial stage. We now all need to hold our nerve to get the changes this house requires and deliver Brexit on time," May told lawmakers on Tuesday. "Having secured an agreement with the EU for further talks, we now need some time to complete that process," she said. The announcement was seen by political commentators as an attempt to stave off the threat of parliamentary rebellion, with MPs now having to wait until Feb. 27 for another series of votes on what to do if no agreement is reached. Business leaders and economists have warned of shockwaves around the continent if no transition deal is in place when Britain leaves the EU.