E-Paper
After big Brexit deal defeat, PM May set to win trust vote
Seeking fresh elections to resolve the Brexit imbroglio, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pressed the no-confidence motion and insisted that May’s ‘zombie government’ is unable to govern after losing the Brexit vote
Prime Minister Theresa May was set to win a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening after suffering the humiliation on Tuesday of her EU withdrawal agreement being voted down by the largest margin in British parliamentary history.
Seeking fresh elections to resolve the Brexit imbroglio, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pressed the no-confidence motion and insisted that May’s ‘zombie government’ is unable to govern after losing the Brexit vote. Do the right thing and resign, he told May.
The no-confidence motion is expected to go in May’s favour since the critics who voted against the Brexit agreement do not want her government to fall, including the Democratic Unionist Party, which is propping up the minority government.
The result of the vote on the no-confidence motion is expected around 8 pm UK time (1.30 am India time).
As promised in a statement after losing the Brexit vote, May will work on Plan B after consulting ‘senior parliamentarians’ to identify what would be required to secure the agreement’s endorsement of the House of Commons, which is necessary before the UK leaves the EU on March 29.
“I have always believed that the best way forward is to leave in an orderly way with a good deal and have devoted much of the last two years negotiating such a deal…We will therefore make a statement about the way forward and table an amendable motion by Monday,” she said.
As EU leaders awaited clarity on Brexit from London, May insisted during the debate on the no-confidence motion that another election was “simply not in the national interest”, it would not resolve Brexit-related differences, neither would another referendum.
A key sticking point remains the Ireland-Northern Ireland backstop - the fallback plan to avoid any return to physical border checks on the island. May is expected to meet EU leaders after consulting leaders and seeking their views on changes needed to the agreement.
However, Labour and other MPs despaired over May not adopting a more conciliatory posture after losing the vote on Tuesday. There was little sign in her interventions that the key elements of her approach to the agreement would be reviewed to incorporate the views of others.
Corbyn revealed he had not been contacted for the all-party talks that May had promised. Labour and other parties are likely to table amendments to the Plan B, which may further delay progress, as the Brexit deadline of March 29 draws near.
Labour’s strategy appeared to be to put May on the defensive, knowing full well that the no-confidence motion cannot succeed, but moving past it will enable the party to put its weight behind the growing demand for another referendum on Brexit.
The future of Brexit remains up in the air, as EU leaders in Brussels, Paris, Dublin and other capitals regretted Tuesday’s vote and called upon London to deliver more clarity. Business leaders who were “watching in horror” reacted with despair and dismay at the developments in Westminster.
