|
|
|
UK ministers battle to win over rebel MPs on Brexit deal
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
IANS | 05 Dec, 2018
UK ministers were set to battle on Wednesday in an attempt to win over
rebel MPs on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, a day after the
government suffered three parliamentary defeats on key votes.
The
start of a five-day debate on May's deal was delayed by several hours
on Tuesday as MPs, in a first defeat for the Prime Minister, passed a
historic motion finding the government in contempt of Parliament for
failing to publish in full the legal advice on Brexit, the BBC reported.
A
crunch vote on May's Brexit deal is scheduled to take place next week
while her ministers will plough on with attempts to win over MPs on
Wednesday, with eight hours of debate on the security and immigration
aspects of the withdrawal agreement.
The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, called the defeats a "badge of shame" for the government.
"By
treating Parliament with contempt, the government has proved it has
lost its majority and the respect of the house. The Prime Minister can't
keep pushing Parliament away or avoiding responsible scrutiny," he
said.
In a second defeat, the government lost a bid to have the
legal advice issue dealt with separately by the Privileges Committee of
MPs.
With May still waiting to open the formal debate, MPs then
inflicted a third defeat, passing a cross-party amendment tabled by MPs
including Dominic Grieve aimed at strengthening the hand of Parliament
if the deal gets voted down.
Supporters of a second referendum on
May's deal cheered the move, which they said would allow them to
demonstrate Parliament's support for alternatives to the Prime
Minister's approach.
Former Tory chief whip Mark Harper told the
BBC he expected May to lose the crunch vote on her Brexit deal scheduled
to take place on December 11 where MPs will decide whether to reject or
accept the agreement.
Harper, who backed Remain in the
referendum told the Daily Telegraph he would vote against the withdrawal
agreement and predicted the deal would be rejected by 80 of his party
colleagues.
The deal has been endorsed by EU leaders but must also be backed by the UK Parliament if it is to come into force.
The
UK is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. Ministers say that if MPs
reject their deal they increase the chances of Britain leaving without a
deal, or not leaving the EU at all.
Harper urged May to renegotiate the deal, insisting the current plan would leave the UK worse off.
Meanwhile, May was expected to continue trying to convince small groups of her MPs to back the plan in private meetings.
"I
promise you today that this is the very best deal for the British
people and I ask you to back it in the best interest of our constituents
and our country," she told the Commons on Tuesday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|