London: UK Prime Minister Theresa May will summon her warring Cabinet to Downing Street for a five-hour showdown on Tuesday after Parliament once again failed to agree on any alternative to her rejected Brexit deal.
Three options — a common market, a customs union and a second referendum — were all narrowly rejected on Monday in the process of indicative votes, prompting renewed talk of a swift general election, the Guardian reported.
Reacting to the development, EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that a no-deal Brexit was now more likely but could still be avoided. Barnier said he saw three ways forward after MPs failed to agree on the latest Brexit proposals — no deal, a long extension or the Prime Minister’s deal.
“No deal was never our desire or intended scenario but the EU 27 is now prepared. It becomes day after day more likely.”
With just 10 days left until Britain is due to leave the EU (on April 12) without a deal unless the government secures a fresh delay from Brussels, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said the Cabinet would have to decide the way forward.
“This house has continuously rejected leaving without a deal, just as it has rejected not leaving at all. Therefore the only option is to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal,” he said.
According to a Downing Street adviser, a snap election fronted by May was being “tested” and that it was viewed by some in the No 10 bunker as “the least worst option”.
The customs union with the EU motion tabled by the former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke was rejected by a margin of just three votes, by 273 to 276, while a second Brexit referendum fell short of a majority by only 12 votes. The Norway-style “common market 2.0” Brexit deal championed by Tory MP Nick Boles was also rejected, by 261 votes to 282. Just 33 Conservative MPs backed it. All three alternative Brexit options lost by a significantly narrower margin than May’s deal, however, which was rejected for a third time last Friday. (IANS)
