Saturday, 20 Apr 2024

Brexit FIGHTBACK: Theresa May to IGNORE ‘undeliverable’ Brexit decision from MPs

Andrea Leadsom has warned Theresa May could ignore MPs’ indicative votes as many of the amendments are “undeliverable”. The House of Commons leader said Government takes Parliament’s views “very seriously” but in reality, many of the amendment “may not be negotiable within the timeframe”. Ms Leadsom told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “There is a lot of evidence the government has worked closely with parliament and we always take what parliament’s views are very, very seriously. But the reality is that indicative votes are simply that, they are indicative.

“The problem looking through the amendments as Laura Kuenssberg said, A-P, a lot of those are just undeliverable and certainly not within the timeframe.”

On whether Government will carry out Parliament’s wishes, the former Environment Secretary added: “We have to see where the votes come out today. We had indicative votes back in 2003 on Lord reform which came out with nothing conclusive.

“We will look very carefully at it but the reality is it may not be negotiable and certainly not within the timeframe.”

Sir Oliver Letwin, the architect of the plan for the Commons to stage a series of indicative votes on the way forward on Brexit, warned MPs could force Mrs May to act if she tried to ignore the outcome.

The reality is it may not be negotiable and certainly not within the timeframe

Andrea Leadsom

He told the Today Programme: “If on Monday one or more propositions get a majority backing in the House of Commons, then we will have to work with the Government to implement them.

“The way I would hope it would happen under those circumstances is that we would have sensible, workmanlike discussions across the House of Commons and the Government would move forward in an orderly fashion.

“If the Government didn’t agree to that, then those who I am working with across the parties will move to legislate to mandate the Government – if we can obtain majorities in the House of Commons and House of Lords for that – to carry that forward.”

MPs will be asked to consider a range of alternative Brexit options on Wednesday after Parliament seized control of the Commons agenda to force a series of “indicative votes”.

The precise voting system is not yet known, but it is understood that MPs will be asked to vote Yes or No to each of the options put before them.

Several options have been tabled and Speaker John Bercow will select a number of the following for discussion and votes on Wednesday.

Jeremy Corbyn is ready to order Labour MPs to back a plan for any Brexit deal to be put to a “confirmatory” referendum, one of the MPs behind the move has said.

MPs will consider the motion, tabled in the name of former foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett, requiring a public vote before ratification of any deal, in a series of indicative votes on Wednesday.

Labour backbencher Peter Kyle, one of the architect’s of the plan, said he believed Mr Corbyn – previously seen as reluctant to back a second referendum – would now support it.

Mr Kyle told the Today Programme: ”He will order MPs to vote for this. We had a really constructive process of engaging with him. At no point was he instinctively against this.”

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