Brexit Votes 12-14 March

' ... Europe's politicians gaze open mouthed at the maelstrom of division and chaos currently whirling through the House of Commons ... two weeks before the official Brexit day - Parliament appears to be in meltdown with no unifying solution in sight' - BBC News 15 March. 


After a difficult three days in the House of Commons the Brexit position may be summarised as:

• Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration rejected by the Commons - previous post

• Exiting the EU without a deal in place also rejected - previous post

• An extension to Article 50 to be requested whether or not the House of Commons approves the negotiated withdrawal agreement by 20 March.  If it is approved by 20 March then the requested extension would be until 30 June to enable the passing of necessary EU exit legislation.  If it is NOT approved by 20 March then a clear purpose for requesting an extension will be required and any extension beyond 30 June would require the United Kingdom to hold European Parliament elections in May 2019 - see Hansard 14 March UK's withdrawal from the EU and BBC How MPs voted.

The House rejected a further referendum (People's Vote) - see New European - MPs vote to delay disaster by backing extension - but People's Vote amendment fails.

On 15 March the Prime Minister made a written statement as to how it intends to proceed - see Statement under Section 13(4) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018: Written Statement


An extension?

The Sword of Damocles hanging over British politics is whether the EU will grant any extension of time.  The EU Council is set to discuss Brexit on 21 March.  It has been said repeatedly that, under Article 50 TEU, an extension is in the gift of the EU Council alone and the Council has to be unanimous.

If the withdrawal agreement is finally accepted by the Commons - (at what would be a third attempt to get it through the House) - then it is thought that an extension would be readily granted to enable the necessary legislation to pass.  After all, it is in the interests of both the EU and the UK that exit is with an agreement in place.

If the withdrawal agreement is NOT accepted by the Commons then it is much less certain that an extension will be granted and, if it is granted, there is the possibility that terms could be imposed.

The default date for Brexit continues to be 29 March 2019 at 11pm unless an extension is granted.

Dept. for Exiting the EU - Parameters of extending Article 50

I am sure that many more twists and turns in the road lie ahead.  As they say - "The case continues ..."

Parliament:

Research Briefing 14 March 2019 - The EU Withdrawal Agreement


Articles:

Brexitcentral - MPs reject second referendum and back government motion seeking an Article 50 extension - how all MPs voted

EU Law Analysis - Extension and Elections: We need to talk about Article 50

Hansard:

12 March - EU (Withdrawal) Act

13 March - UK's withdrawal from the EU

14 March - UK's withdrawal from the EU

Media:

BBC News 15 March - Will EU leaders agree to an extension?

BBC News 14 March - March Brexit almost certainly out of reach

The Independent 14 March - Brexit has finally broken the British political system

The Guardian 14 March - Tusk pushes EU27 leaders to be open to long Brexit delay

The Guardian 13 March - EU on no-deal Brexit motion: 'like Titanic voting for iceberg to move'