Brexit amendment 'hijacked' by government figures to 'force their will' on process

A rebel member of Theresa May’s Conservative party has suggested that a recent bill concerning Britain’s exit from the European Union [EU Bill] has been compromised, hinting the imminent ouster of the prime mister.  

May had avoided defeat in the House of Commons on Tuesday on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill after providing assurances to pro-EU Tories in her private office in Westminster that their concerns about a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal would be addressed.

On Tuesday, despite mounting pressure on May in the House of Commons, Conservative MPs from the ruling party showed mercy to the prime minister and voted against the proposed amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill devised by the House of Lords.

Read more:
British prime minister survives another key Brexit vote

However, when May’s government tabled the bill on Thursday, the lawmakers immediately voted against it, describing the bill as “unacceptable”.

Pro-EU MPs from both May's ruling Conservative party and the opposition ranks formed a united front against the proposals.

The lawmakers said the prime minister had promised to give parliament more power over the Brexit; but, her proposals fell far short of what was pledged.

"It is unacceptable in my view," leading pro-EU Tory Dominic Grieve told media on Friday.

"It totally negates the point of the amendment, which was to give MPs a say," he said.

Another pro-EU Tory MP, Stephen Hammond, said that the wording had been changed from what was agreed upon.

He said the "altered" wording had been "forced" on May by government figures, suggesting she now lacked the power to keep her promise.

“The prime minister intends to honor her word… [however] some people in the Government may ... have hijacked the process," Hammond suggested.

Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the government’s amendment was “simply not good enough”.

“Theresa May has gone back on her word and offered an amendment that takes the meaning out of meaningful vote. Parliament cannot – and should not – accept it,” he said.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland acknowledged that the prime minister had made alterations to the previous copies and decided on the final proposal on Thursday afternoon.

“There were various iterations of the motion, yes there were times in the day when we were looking at different iterations,” he told UK media.

“The prime minister had a choice to make, she was given a range of options, she has delivered on the promise that she made.”

He added: “I have not lied, certainly not. I promised them that I would deal in good faith, we looked at iterations, they have been involved in the process - as have other colleagues - and in the end a decision was made by the government to table the motion in these terms.”

Fresh crisis

May has repeatedly said that a no-deal with the EU is better than a bad deal for the UK, leaving the bloc in dismay.

Last month, the Lords passed a plan to give parliament power if May failed to seal a Brexit deal later this year.

If no-deal is reached by the November deadline, the UK parliament will take charge of the Brexit.

Meanwhile, the rift among British lawmakers over choosing the best Brexit strategy is wide.

May attempted to heal the rift in parliament through compromise, promising to delegate greater control over Brexit to MPs.

However, May's attempt failed and plunged her into a fresh crisis.

With the deterioration of May's position, it seems unlikely that talks between London and Brussels will bear fruit.

So, the EU has prepared for the likely postponement of Brexit and has even devised a contingency plan.

The plan is set to go into effect in March 2019 “in the event that the United Kingdom is still a member state of the Union”.

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