U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May faces a fresh challenge on Monday to her attempt to formally start Brexit negotiations by the end of March, as lawmakers begin a line-by-line debate over legislation that would allow her to do so. The draft law passed its first hurdle on Wednesday when the lower chamber, the House of Commons, voted it through to the next stage, with just one dissenting lawmaker from May’s Conservative Party — former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke.
Category: Conservatives (UK)
May’s Brexit Plan Imperiled by Tory Rebellion, Lawmaker Says
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a revolt from as many as 27 lawmakers in her ruling Conservative Party who want to “wreck” her Brexit law, a prominent anti-Europe campaigner said. Members of May’s party could derail her plan to trigger the start of the U.K.’s exit from the European Union by supporting amendments to the draft law in Parliament next week, said Steve Baker, chairman of a group of pro-Brexit Conservative lawmakers.
Brexit Bulletin: In Case of Emergency
Tucked away in the final pages of the government’s 75-page plan for the Brexit negotiations was the line that the government would draft emergency laws to protect the economy in the event that the talks break down without the sweeping free trade deal May wants. “The government is clear that no deal for the U.K. is better than a bad deal for the U.K.,” the white paper said.