Mrs. May's Brexit Withdrawal deal along with the political declaration was signed off by the European Union on Sunday. The Prime Minister now faces the daunting process of getting the Parliament to vote for “the deal that works both for the UK and EU.” This comes at a time when she lost her majority in the House of Commons after holding a snap general election in 2017 which means she relies on the support of Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) 10 MPs to take Britain out of the EU.
Virendra Sharma, Labour MP from Ealing Southall has written to his party members and constituents to confirm that as it stands he will vote against the Prime Minister's current Brexit deal. And as it appears that Mrs. May's version of “only possible deal” amidst concerns over the Irish backstop, trade deals and strait of Gibraltar has her own house divided.
Tick tock, 11 December locked
"Many constituents have contacted me, urging me to vote against Theresa May's Brexit deal.” said Virendra Sharma.
11th December is the D-day when Mrs. May would require at least a total of 320 out of the 650 MPs to vote for her negotiated deal assuming that the speaker, his three deputies and the seven Sinn Fein MPs abstain from voting.
While the math sounds simple enough, as of today roughly about 290 MPs appear to support her deal as she has distinctly presented the choice between “her deal or no deal” for the UK.
“I have judged the Brexit deal against the six tests that were set out by the Shadow Brexit Secretary in March last year. These tests are based on promises made by the Government about the kind of Brexit deal it would deliver. However, the Prime Minister has not delivered a deal that meets these tests and as it stands, I intend to vote against the Prime Minister's deal.” Virendra Sharma has written.
So what happens in case Mrs. May's deal is not approved in the Parliament? Following the vote, ministers would have up to 21 days to make a statement in the Parliament on how to proceed which would then allow a further seven days to the government to move a motion in the Commons where MPs may express their view on the government's course of action.
Back to square one & another referendum?
The interim period allows the Prime Minister a second attempt at passing the deal through the Commons, perhaps go back to Brussels for a re-negotiation wherein, Brussels may address the concerns of the MPs and decide to tweak the deal a little in the UK's favour.
“The way the Prime Minister has handled the negotiations with the European Union over the past two years has been disastrous. We now face a situation where we have a bad deal that does not work for our country and is unlikely to be endorsed by Parliament.”
Worse comes to worse, the government decides to call for a second referendum wherein, a legislation has to be passed by the majority of the House of Commons. However, with the way Mrs. May has challenged Jeremy Corbyn to a national TV debate that looks almost unlikely. Especially considering the fact that she is now appealing for popular vote by travelling across the countries so that the MPs understand the risk of losing their seat if an election were to be called and Labour were to win.
However, Britons appear to admire Mrs. May's determination in pushing the deal which she is so convinced does not have a plan B despite the continued opposition. And this admiration is perhaps reflected in a YouGov poll for The Times last week which was conducted when her fellow Tory Brexiters were trying to oust her from office. Mrs. May's approval ratings jumped dramatically from 33% to 46% over the course of one week where Britons appeared to want her to stay in power. But this hasn't stopped some MPs such as Virendra Sharma to oppose the Prime Minister.
“Unlike the Prime Minister, however, I do not believe that Parliament's choice is simply between her deal or no deal at all. I think a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic and the Government does not have the right to plunge our country into chaos because of its own failure to get a good deal. I cannot in good faith vote for a deal which leaves us worse off, with fewer rights and fewer jobs, as it stands I believe leaving the EU will be extremely damaging to the UK and cannot support it.
Therefore, if Parliament votes down the Prime Minister's deal, I believe the public should have the final say on the UK’s relationship with the EU and that a remain option should be on the ballot paper.” said Virendra Sharma.
Unlike the division in MPs, the Executives in the City of London have urged the MPs to vote for Prime Minister's deal to avoid a no-deal Brexit that would harm the UK economy.
Whatever be the outcome and out of all the uncertainties Mrs. May definitely appears intent to have a national debate with Jeremy Corbyn and with the way she insists that she has a plan as opposed to him, it seems she is not ready to leave her throne anytime soon.
