British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to rush her plan for divorce talks with the European Union through Parliament to ward off a rebellion from her Conservative Party, according to a report.
Members of Parliament will vote on whether to accept or reject May’s Brexit strategy in the beginning of December, Bloomberg reported on Thursday quoting government sources familiar with the matter.
The prime minister’s team is planning to get the final withdrawal agreement ratified by lawmakers within two weeks of signing the terms of the divorce in Brussels, sources told Bloomberg.
On Wednesday, May called on members of the Conservative Party to unite behind her Brexit deal saying widening Tory differences on Brexit would put at risk a smooth withdrawal from the EU.
“If we all go off in different directions in pursuit of our own vision of the perfect Brexit, we risk ending up with no Brexit at all,” May said.
May is in the midst of some tough negotiations with the EU on Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc, which will take place March. The two sides are seeking a deal that could guarantee a smooth departure for Britain which could also have the minimum harm on the EU.
However, both the EU and critics in May’s opponents in Britain have fiercely criticized her for a plan she unveiled in early July which set out her government’s key proposals for a divorce, including on trade and how the border on the island of Ireland would stand in future.
May has shrugged off criticism by her former foreign minister, Boris Johnson, who resigned from the government in protest to the prime minister’s Brexit strategy.
Johnson, a main candidate to replace May if she fails with Brexit, has repeatedly criticized the government plan, saying it would make Britain a colony of the EU once the country leaves the bloc.