Fatal blow to Brexit program by Theresa May | …

PageI12 in Great Britain
From London

Parliament rejected Theresa May's draft for Brexit for the third time. Two weeks after the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU), the pound fell, the European Council announced the holding of an emergency meeting and the Prime Minister has it – even suggested that elections could be held stating that "we are reaching the limit" of what this House can do in this process ".

The vote was tighter this time – 58 votes against 149 and 230 of the previous votes – but the blow was more powerful because Parliament had rejected the only agreement on the table. Thus, unless there is a parliamentary consensus on this last line, there will be a hard Brexit on April 12: the UK will leave the EU without an agreement.

In her statement to the House of Commons, May acknowledged the seriousness of the crisis. "This House rejected an exit without agreement, denied the absence of Brexit and rejected Wednesday all the alternatives presented.Today, it refused to approve the withdrawal agreement and to continue the negotiations on relations with the European Union in the future, and the government will continue to seek an orderly exit, "said May.

Opposition leader, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, focused on the prime minister. "The camera has been cleared.This agreement must change.If the Prime Minister can not accept this, then he will have to resign, not at a later date, but now, so that the country can decide its future when it is". general elections, "said Corbyn.

The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, convened an emergency meeting on April 10, two days before the departure of the UK from the EU. The meeting would give the EU a space to discuss a UK request for an extension of the exit period in case the government or parliament could come up with a new alternative plan. But pessimism is growing in Brussels, summed up the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. "We are in favor of an orderly withdrawal, but that seems less and less likely," Kurz said.

On Monday, Parliament will again discuss other means in the form of "indicative votes", ie votes that give an idea of ​​the will of the House but are not binding on the executive. In Wednesday's vote, none of the eight proposals tabled – a second referendum aimed at staying in the EU or leaving without agreement – got the majority.

The one that came closest was a "soft Brexit" around a customs union between the UK and the EU. The customs union would guarantee trade relations with the bloc and solve the border problem between the Republic of Ireland (part of the EU) and Northern Ireland (member of the United Kingdom) while preventing the British from entering into free trade agreements. trade outside the EU. This option scratched a majority: 272 against, 264 for.

In an attempt to break the deadlock, it is expected that the alternatives at stake will be reduced on Monday: instead of eight options, there will be two or three. In this case, the alternative of the customs union could attract the votes of all MPs who wish to avoid at all costs an exit without agreement for the economic and social impact that would have.

The problem is that the votes are only "indicative". The prime minister, who had previously rejected the option of the customs union because he had betrayed the "Brexit", could not adopt this vote as the policy of his government. It is a prerogative, although in a parliamentary system, it would trigger a phenomenal political and constitutional crisis.

In the midst of so many uncertainties, the pound fell against the dollar and the euro. Sign of the concern raised by Brexit among local and global investors, the British currency rose when it was learned, in the middle of the vote, that some former ministers had decided to support the agreement. in the room. This fleeting optimism collapsed as soon as the end result was known. According to Jeremy Thompson-Cook of World First, the pound will not recover as long as it will not be possible to get out of the crisis.