The government has all but abandoned plans to try to force through the Brexit deal using the withdrawal agreement bill and will instead try to devise a way to forge a compromise through new indicative votes if talks with Labour break down. Government sources had previously suggested that, if the talks ultimately ended in impasse, May could use the withdrawal agreement bill to ratify the Brexit agreement and legislate for guarantees on the environment and workers’ rights. Earlier on Monday, Downing Street in effect conceded that the Brexit deadlock would lead to the next Queen’s speech being postponed. The prime minister’s spokesman said the government wanted to get the EU withdrawal agreement bill through parliament first. “What we are focused on is the withdrawal agreement bill, because that is the legislation which is necessary in order to ratify our withdrawal from the EU,” he said.

Source: The Guardian April 29, 2019 17:37 UTC