UK PM May reschedules Brexit vote for 3rd week of January

  • 5 years ago
British Prime Minister Theresa May has rescheduled a parliamentary vote on her unpopular Brexit bill for the third week of January.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… about a month left now…. Will things be different?

Well Mark…. Unfortunately for Mrs. May it's more of the same….
MPs are still very hostile towards May's Brexit deal despite her insisting she got reassurances from her EU counterparts on the contentious issue of the Irish "backstop," which MPs fear would keep the UK under EU customs rules indefinitely.

"……. my fellow EU leaders could not have been clearer. They do not want to use this backstop. They wanted to agree the best possible future relationship with us. There is no clock to keep us in the backstop……. They go further than the EU has ever done previously in trying to address the concerns of this house……."

May also urged parliament to back the agreement in order to avoid a no-deal scenario.

"….I know this is not everyone's perfect deal. It is a compromise. But if we let the perfect be the enemy of the good and we risk leaving the EU with no deal."

The main opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, lashed out at May for delaying the vote, saying she was leading the UK into a "national crisis."
He also called on the prime minister to hold the vote sooner.

"It is clear, Mr. Speaker, the prime minister has failed to renegotiate a deal. Failed to get any meaningful reassurances. There is no excuse for any more dither or delay."

May hit back, saying the Labour Party had no alternative, accusing it of putting political interests before the interests of the public.
Meanwhile, Corbyn has tabled a motion of no confidence in the prime minster.
The move is aimed at putting pressure specifically on Mrs. May rather than her government, and is not legally binding.