Announcing a free vote for Conservative MPs on Wednesday’s motion rejecting a no-deal Brexit, Theresa May cited the precedent of the Brexit referendum. The prime minister’s offer of a free vote on the most important issue to face the House of Commons in decades is a measure of how weak her grip on the levers of political power has become. And although her statement suggested she opposed a no-deal Brexit, Downing Street declined to confirm that she would vote in favour of her own motion tomorrow ruling out a no-deal Brexit on March 29th. Thursday’s motion will attract amendments aimed at allowing parliament to find a cross-party consensus about how to proceed with Brexit. But a no-deal Brexit remains the default outcome, either on March 29th or a few weeks later, unless a majority of MPs can agree on an alternative.

Source: The Irish Times March 12, 2019 22:18 UTC