Theresa May's Brexit statement - Summary and analysis
Sometimes the most significant event is the one that does not happen. Two weeks ago, on 29 March, when the UK was supposed to be leaving the EU but article 50 had been extended for two weeks, there were large protests in Parliament Square involving thousands of people furious that their Brexit was not happening. Last night Theresa May accepted another extension, not for two weeks but for almost seven months. And yet in the Commons the Brexiter response was close to subdued.
True, Sir Bill Cash, the veteran Tory Brexiter, asked May if she would resign, and a few other Brexit hardliners criticised her in strong terms. But there was a lot less bile and rage than we have from them in some previous exchanges, many of the most senior Brexiters were not present or did not speak, and overall May sounded a bit more resilient than she has done of late. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that many MPs are feeling knackered. But the absence of a mighty backlash may also reflect an awareness amongst Brexiters that, although they would love to get rid of the prime minister, at present they don’t have the leverage to do so.
Here are the main points from the exchanges.
- May urged MPs to use the Easter recess to consider their “national duty” and reflect on how they might find a solution to the Brexit impasse. She also claimed it was still possible to pass the withdrawal agreement in time to prevent the UK having to take part in European elections. In her opening statement she said:
So let us use the opportunity of the recess to reflect on the decisions that will have to be made swiftly on our return after Easter. And let us then resolve to find a way through this impasse.
So that we can leave the European Union with a deal as soon as possible.
So that we can avoid having to hold those European parliamentary elections.
And above all, so that we can fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver Brexit and move our country forward.
This is our national duty as elected members of this House – and nothing today is more pressing or more vital.
- May brushed aside a call from Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, to resign. Cash asked May:
Does the prime minister appreciate the anger that her abject surrender last night has generated across the country, having broken promises 100 times not to extend the time? ... Will she resign?
May said Cash knew the answer to that. She also brushed aside a complaint from Peter Bone, another Tory Brexiter, who asked her whether she still stood by what she told him at PMQs three weeks ago about how she would not consider delaying Brexit beyond 30 June while she was still PM. (See 2.24pm.)
- She refused to rule out applying for a further article 50 extension in the autumn. (See 3.04pm.)
- She claimed there was more agreement between Labour and the Conservatives on the customs union than people realised. She said:
I think there is actually more agreement in relation to a customs union than is often given credit for when different language is used.
We’ve been very clear that we want to obtain the benefits of a customs union - no tariffs, no rules of origin checks and no quotas - while being able to operate our own independent trade policy.
The Labour party has said they want a say in trade policy - the question is how we ensure we can provide for this country to be in charge of its trade policy in the future.
- She risked angering the DUP by refusing to rule out extending this session of parliament until the autumn. The issue was raised by Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader at Westminster, who told May:
The current session of parliament is due to end sometime soon. There is some talk around of extending this session beyond two years. Can I say, I think many in this house, including on this bench, would regard that as something that is not acceptable?
May refused to give Dodds the assurance he wanted, although when Labour’s Chris Bryant raised the same issue, she said her focus was on getting her deal through parliament. Even though the DUP are the Tories’ confidence and supply partners, May also responded robustly when the DUP MP Sammy Wilson accused her of always giving in to the EU. (See 2.43pm.)
Sure fire sign that the end is nigh: Theresa May goes to war with the DUP's Sammy Wilson.
— Jack Maidment (@jrmaidment) April 11, 2019
You can actually see that Mr Wilson is taken aback by the PM's angry tone. pic.twitter.com/26JguxjhAn
That’s all from me for today. And until after Easter, because I will be off. But colleagues will be writing the blog in my place for the next week.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
No 10 says talks with Labour will not continue just 'for the sake of it'
Talks with Labour will not continue “for the sake of it” if both sides cannot agree a deal and party leaders would instead attempt to agree a way to get a parliamentary majority for a Brexit outcome, Downing Street has said.
Labour officials are meeting Theresa May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell this afternoon, which is likely to lead to further talks between ministers and their opposites on Friday.
Theresa May’s spokesman said the hope was to agree a deal that meant the UK could leave the EU before June 30, the date the prime minister has previously said she would not to extend beyond. At a lobby briefing, he went on:
If we work at pace, the House of Commons can come together, we can agree a deal, ratify it and get out before having to do EU parliamentary elections. There is an opportunity here and we ought not to lose sight of that.
We have already started the process with the leader of the opposition and it’s right we see that continue to what we hope will be a successful conclusion. We have stressed the urgency because there is an opportunity to avoid EU elections and to bring a resolution for greater certainty.
Bluntly, we will not continue to talk for the sake of it.
But we believe the discussion and dialogue we are having is valuable and we want to see that continue while we think we are making progress. We are invested in this and [the PM] told fellow leaders last night ... this is not the usual way of doing things in British politics, it’s much more familiar to some EU leaders in the way that they work but it’s not very typical for the House of Commons.
Should that not come to fruition, there would be a way, if we could agree a process with the Labour party’s participation, for the house to express its preference on options and she also made the point that in any event, we will have to introduce and agree and pass the withdrawal agreement bill.
A plan has been discussed with Labour, though not agreed, to bring forward the withdrawal agreement bill, which could be a way to attempt to bypass a meaningful vote in parliament and allow MPs to amend the bill as a route to try to achieve a parliamentary majority.
Downing Street said it wanted to come to agreement with Labour about how the process for finding parliamentary consensus would work.
“We have tried this twice before and we hope by working with the opposition in a more bipartisan way we can arrive at a series of options that allow us to avoid a situation where the house is asked for its verdict and, bluntly, can’t come up with one,” May’s spokesman said.
Number 10 said it would not be a waste of time for MPs to now have a short break from Westminster. “Fundamentally, people could use a break,” the spokesman said. “Everybody should take a break in a way they feel is most appropriate.”
Asked if the PM is planning on taking a holiday, Downing Street hinted that a break could be on the cards. “We will come back to you with her plans,” her spokesman said.
Emmanuel Macron’s tough-guy stance at the EU summit – refusing the UK a much longer Brexit extension – was partly down to the French president’s personality, but his reasoning was political, my colleague Angelique Chrisafis explains in an analysis of why Macron acted as he did at last night’s summit. Here article is here.
Nicola Sturgeon has written to Theresa May asking her to include the SNP government in ongoing Brexit talks with Labour, as the first minister confirmed that she is now ready to set out her long-awaited plans for a second independence referendum to the Scottish parliament after it returns from Easter recess.
In the letter to May, Sturgeon wrote: “We now have the gift of more time from the EU, and that must be used constructively to re-set the UK government approach. Your ongoing talks with the leader of the opposition should now broaden to include other parties, the devolved administrations, business and civic society, and open up the range of options on the table in an effort to reach a genuine consensus.”
Earlier in the day, in an interview with Bauer Radio, Sturgeon said:
Obviously we still don’t have clarity about the future of the UK but I’ve always said that when we got to the end of this phase of negotiations I would set out my thinking on where or what that meant for Scotland.
Had parliament been recalled today I would have had the opportunity to make a statement in general about the implications of Brexit, so after the recess I will take stock with the Scottish parliament about the implications of last night’s developments ... and what it means for Scotland in the longer term.
The way the Easter holidays have fallen mean that Sturgeon will face some pressure of time: Holyrood recess officially ends on April 23rd, and SNP spring conference – where a heated debate is anticipated around the question of which currency an independent Scotland should use – is the following weekend. Sturgeon has pledged to set out her plans before parliament in the first instance, but has been under pressure from party activists and some senior parliamentarians who want her to hold a second independence referendum as soon as possible.
Charles Walker, a Tory, says May take a few days off. And the chief whip should get some sleep too.
May says she thinks it will be good for all MPs to reflect on what happens next away from the chamber.
And that’s it. The PM’s statement is over.
I will post a summary soon.
Rehman Chishti, a Conservative, says taking part in the European elections will give legitimacy to far-right extremists.
May says she wants to ensure the UK does not need to participate in those elections.
The Conservative MP Derek Thomas asks if it still the plan for the transition period to end in December 2020.
May says that the transition can still end at the end of 2020, and that the government will work to ensure it does.
Asked if she can be sure that he European parliament will ratify any deal in a timely way, and that it will not hold things up to force the UK to participate in the European elections, May says the European parliament can ratify the deal before Westminster has.
May says she is grateful to EU leaders who attended the summit yesterday. Some broke off election campaigning, and one postponed a trip to Vietnam to be there.
Labour’s Rupa Huq says she will back May’s deal if it is subject to a confirmatory referendum. That is her compromise. What is May’s?
May says constituents want to be able to move on. Having a second referendum would not allow that, she says.
Labour’s Seema Malhotra asks who May will include in the forum she plans to set up to consider what happens next with Brexit.
May says first she needs to pass her deal. After that, in the second stage of the process, she will engage with businesses, unions and civil society.
Labour’s Stella Creasy asks May if she agrees that the best way to consult on what should happen next with Brexit would be to hold a citizens’ assembly.
May says she will soon make an announcement on how she will solicit views on what should happen next.
Here are some lines from the Number 10 afternoon lobby briefing, from the Times’ Sam Coates, the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope and ITV’s Carl Dinnen.
Number 10 spokesman, in briefing after TM statement: “People could use a break” ... “everybody should take a break in the way they feel most appropriate.”
— Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes) April 11, 2019
When holiday becomes policy....
NEW Number 10 has refused repeatedly to say if Theresa May will campaign in the European Parliament elections
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) April 11, 2019
A Number 10 spokesman says the C&S Deal is not dependent on Parliamentary sessions but lasts for two financial years.
— Carl Dinnen (@carldinnen) April 11, 2019
May refuses to rule out applying for a further article 50 extension
Martin Vickers, a Conservative, asks for an assurance that May will never seek a further article 50 extension.
May thanks Vickers for supporting the deal, but she ignores his question.
- May refuses to rule out applying for a further article 50 extension.
Labour’s Mary Creagh says May will not get a stable majority for any Brexit legislation in the Commons unless she includes plans for a people’s vote, which she says is Labour policy passed at conference.
Jonathan Djanogly, a Conservative, asks if there is a structure to the talks with Labour. Will MPs know more after the recess?
May says, if the UK is to pass a deal in time to stop it needing to take part in the European elections, a timetable will apply.
Labour’s Chris Bryant asks May is she plans to keep this session of parliament going until 31 October.
May says her focus with parliamentary time at the moment is getting her deal passed.
Antoinette Sandbach, a Tory pro-European, says her constituents are pleased to see the government in talks with Labour. She says a survey after the referendum showed only 35% of people who voted leave thought that would mean leaving the single market and the customs union. And she tells May he confidence and supply partners, the DUP, are undermining confidence and not supply the votes.
Labour’s Karen Buck asks May when she will decide whether she can bring forward an EU withdrawal agreement bill.
May says it will depend how the talks with Labour go.
Sammy Wilson, the DUP MP, asks May to name any issues on which the UK said no to the EU.
May says she resisted a Northern Ireland-only customs union, and she resisted demands for an exit bill of £100bn.
Alistair Burt, the Tory pro-European, asks May if she will allow free votes in an indicative votes process.
May thanks Burt, who resigned recently from the government, for his work as a minister. But she sidesteps his question.
Labour’s Owen Smith says May would get her deal through parliament if she attached a people’s vote to it.
May says she has already covered this.
Chuka Umunna, the former Labour MP who now sits with the Independent Group, says May has put her party before her country. Will May face down Brexiters in her party and consider a people’s vote.
May says she has answered this already.
Labour’s Stephen Kinnock asks for an assurance that full membership of the single market through the EEA will be an option in any indicative ballot.
May says the UK does not need to be a full member of the single market to gets its benefits.
Richard Harrington, the Tory pro-European, asks May if she will use a preferential voting system if she needs to hold indicative ballots.
May says she would discuss this with Labour. There are a number of options, she says. But she would want a system that provided a clear result.
Labour’s Peter Kyle says MPs seem increasingly fearful of the electorate. Isn’t it time for MPs to investigate how they can use public ballots to bring people through ballots, and how they can lead people with facts?
May pays tribute to the way Kyle has championed a confirmatory ballot. But she says no one is running scared of the electorate. Many people would see a second referendum as a sign of bad faith, she says.
Updated
May says she thinks a second referendum would increase division just at the time when the government needs to bring people together.
Labour’s Stephen Doughty says trying to decouple a vote on her deal from a vote on a confirmatory vote will not be acceptable to many Labour MPs.
May says she thinks MPs agree they do need to deliver Brexit.
Mark Francois, the Tory Brexiter, says “perseverance is a virtue, but sheer obstinacy is not”. What will May do if Corbyn collapses the talks and calls a confidence motion?
May says she will continue to argue for the Conservatives to remain in office.
UPDATE: This is from the former Labour MP Ian Austin, who now sits as an independent.
Mark Francois wins today's award for self-awareness by telling the PM that "sheer obstinacy" is not a virtue.
— Ian Austin (@IanAustinMP) April 11, 2019
Updated
Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, says wasting the new extension on a Tory leadership contest would be “an unforgivable act of self-indulgence”.
Labour’s Pat McFadden says May has now acknowledged no-deal is unacceptable. But for two years she said that was better than a bad deal. By saying this, she normalised the unacceptable.
May says she wants MPs to approve a good deal.
Peter Bone, the Tory Brexiter, says May told him at PMQs last month she would not consider delaying Brexit beyond 30 June while she was PM.
May says the Commons can honour that commitment by voting for a deal before 30 June.
Labour’s Liz Kendall tells May that “one more heave” won’t work. This extension should be used for a purpose. So will she put her deal to a referendum?
May says the way to break the deadlock is to pass her deal.
Here is some Twitter comment on what Nigel Dodds said about the prospect of this session of parliament being extended. (See 2.07pm.)
From Sky’s Faisal Islam
Back on Dodds - inconceivable that DUP would back a Queens Speech designed to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement, nor back WA in current form too, nor a Govt that has passed it. As they now say extension of Parliamentary session unacceptable - we are heading for a June crunch.
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 11, 2019
From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh
.@NigelDoddsDUP adds 'unacceptable' if current Parliament session extended beyond 2 yrs (and extension of session is rumoured).
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) April 11, 2019
Of course if there is a new session, May needs a new Queen speech. Which the DUP can vote down if it wants..
From Sky’s Lewis Goodall
VERY interesting. Nigel Dodds warns May not to extend current session of parliament (which has already lasted for two years).
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) April 11, 2019
Significnace of this is new session needs new Queen's Speech- which govt might lose. And, funnily enough, DUP deal runs out at end of *this* session...
Anna Soubry, the former Tory who is now an Independent Group MP, says she welcomes the extension, because it allows more time for a people’s vote. On which issue is May willing to compromise?
May says she is talking about this with Labour.
Steve Baker, the leading Tory Brexiter, says the government relies on the votes of the DUP. If it pushes through the withdrawal agreement with the backstop, will it rely on Labour votes in confidence motions.
May laughs. She says what she is doing with Labour is unprecedented. But she wants to get her deal through, she says.
UPDATE: Baker later posted this on Twitter.
It is playing with fire to trample our confidence and supply partners. https://t.co/DKCzjotdju
— Steve Baker MP (@SteveBakerHW) April 11, 2019
Updated
Labour’s Kate Hoey asks May if she accepts any responsibility for signing up to a backstop that MPs would not support.
May says she thinks the backstop is something that should never be used and need never be used.
May claims Labour and Tories agree more on customs union than people realise
Labour’s Yvette Cooper asks May if she is willing to consider a common external tariff with the EU (a key part of a customs union).
May says the Commons has rejected a range of options. On a customs union, there is “more agreement [between the Tories and Labour] than is often given credit for”, she says. She says the language used sometimes obscures this. She says she wants this country to be in charge of its trade policy in the future.
- May claims Labour and the Tories agree more on a customs union than people realise.
Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader at Westminister, says the EU said they would not offer an article 50 extension without a credible plan as to what the UK would do next, and without stringent conditions. But the EU backed down, and offered an extension without either of those applying. He says May should learn the lesson, and push for changes to the backstop. And he says extending this session of parliament until the autumn would not be acceptable.
- DUP warns May not to try extending current session of parliament.
May says the UK has repeatedly pushed for changes to the backstop.
Updated
Sir Patrick McLoughlin, the Tory former chief whip, says Jeremy Corbyn refused an offer of cross-party talks some time ago.
May says there was not “the same level of interest” when she first offered cross-party talks to Corbyn.
Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, asks May to get officials to prepare a timetable for a second referendum.
May says the house has already rejected this plan twice.
Bill Cash says May should resign
Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, asks May if she understands the anger people feel about this “abject surrender” last night. “Will she resign?”
May says she thinks Cash knows the answer to that.
She admits that she often said she wanted the UK to leave on 29 March. She voted for that, she says. She also voted to leave on 22 May. But other MPs did not, and so that is why a further extension was necessary.
- Bill Cash says May should resign.
Updated
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says Brexit has been a “total fiasco”. He says it is an irony the EU has got the UK out of this mess.
He asks May if she has offered Labour a second referendum in the cross-party talks.
May says she has not offered a second referendum. Her position on this has not changed, and the idea has been rejected twice by MPs. But, she says, as Brexit legislation goes through the Commons, she expects MPs to push for a vote on this.
Updated
Ken Clarke, the Tory pro-European, urges May to ignore some of the more vicious attacks on her from their more rightwing colleagues.
He asks May if she accepts that the minimum needed for a compromise will be some sort of customs arrangement, and some sort of regulatory alignment.
May says the political declaration already says the UK wants to keep the advantages of a customs union.
May is responding to Corbyn.
She says she is not prepared just to accept Labour’s policy. And Labour is not prepared just to accept hers. This takes compromise on both sides, she says.
Jeremy Corbyn is responding now.
He says having to ask for a second extension is a sign of the government’s failure.
He says a third of May’s MPs voted against her proposed extension earlier this week.
He welcomes May’s decision to open talks with Labour. But the invitation did not come at the 11th hour; it came at five past midnight - after the original Brexit deadline, he says.
He says the talks have been serious. But if they are to succeed, there will have to be compromise.
That is why he was disappointed by Liam Fox’s letter this week. It was an attempt to scupper Labour’s proposal for a customs union. Only yesterday the taoiseach said it was credible and negotiable, he says.
He says, if Labour’s Brexit is not possible, all options should be on the table, including a public vote.
He says May said she would stand down after a deal is passed. But Labour has no idea who might replace her, he says. He says some of the candidates would scrap the Human Rights Act, rip up “burdensome regulations”, accept no-deal or use Brexit “to create a race to the bottom”.
May says some leaders argued for stringent conditions on the UK while it remains an EU member.
But, says May, she argued against it. She said there was only one tier of EU membership.
She says she told EU leaders that, while the UK remains a member of the EU, it will continue to play a constructive role. That is the sort of country we are, she says.
She says she continues to hold talks with Labour. That is not the normal practice in UK politics, but she wants to break the deadlock, she says.
She says she hopes to reach a compromise deal with Labour. But, if that is not possible, she will put a small number of options to MPs for indicative votes. She says she will agree to bound by the results, provided Labour agrees to that too.
She says the EU has confirmed that it is willing to reconsider the political declaration.
She says she knows the whole country is frustrated by this delay.
And she understands how this is putting MPs under immense pressure.
She urges MPs to use the recess to reflect on this, and consider how they can get out of this impasse.
This is their national duty, she says
Theresa May's Commons statement on extending article 50 until 31 October
Theresa May is now making a statement about last night’s EU summit.
She says she asked for an extension until 30 June. But she says she also asked for an assurance that, if the UK passed the deal before then, it could leave immediately.
She says the discussions at the summit were difficult.
Many EU countries are frustrated with the impasse, she says.
She says many leaders wanted a long extension. The result was a compromise, she says - an extension until 31 October, with a review in June.
But the UK could still leave earlier, and it could avoid having to take part in the European elections, she says.
Here’s a question from BTL.
Does the Yvette Cooper bill rule out a no-deal Brexit for good?
The Cooper bill was a one-off. After the vote on Tuesday, it ceases to have effect.
So it does not rule out a no-deal in October.
And it never fully ruled out a no-deal this week either, despite some claims to the contrary. All it did was ensure that the PM would have to hold a vote on extending article 50, making it impossible for Theresa May to go to the EU proposing no-deal on 12 April against the wishes of MPs. There was always a risk the EU could have refused a further extension, despite the Commons vote on Tuesday.
But your main point is right. If a majority of MPs now can force a Cooper-style bill onto the statute book against the wishes of the government, it is likely that the same will be true in the autumn (although by then we may have a different Speaker, who may be less indulgent of such procedural initiatives.)
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has written an open letter to Theresa May urging her not to waste the “gift of more time” given to the UK by the EU. Here’s an extract.
We now have the gift of more time from the EU, and that must be used constructively to re-set the UK government approach. Your ongoing talks with the leader of the opposition should now broaden to include other parties, the devolved administrations, business and civic society, and open up the range of options on the table in an effort to reach a genuine consensus. If such talks are to stand any chance of success you must be prepared to recognise in particular that it is essential for Scotland, at the very least, to stay inside the single market and continue to benefit from freedom of movement.
Updated
Speaking in the Irish parliament, Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said that a no-deal Brexit now looked “less likely” than it did a week ago. He explained:
I want to reassure people that if we do face a no-deal Brexit, which looks less likely today than it did last week, we will be ready to support farm families through what will be a difficult period of change and disruption.
For an alternative view, see Mujtaba Rahman at 10.49am.
On another point of order the Labour MP Chris Bryant has just said in the Commons that there is a rumour that the government intends to keep this session of parliament running until 31 October. Sessions of parliament normally last a year, but after the 2017 general election the government announced that the first session of this parliament would last two years.
John Bercow, the Speaker, said he had not been told when the government intends to wrap up this session.
In the Commons Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, has just used a point of order to say the Commons should sit tomorrow to debate the order changing the date of Brexit in the EU Withdrawal Act following the decision last night to extend article 50. He described the decision last night as “abject surrender”, and said not holding a debate was “cowardice and chicanery”.
MPs held a debate when the exit date was originally changed from 29 March to 12 April or 22 May. But, as an amendment to the Yvette Cooper bill that was passed on Monday, the government changed the procedure. Previously the date had to be changed under secondary legislation using the affirmative resolution procedure, which meant there had to be a vote first. Now it can be changed under the negative resolution procedure, which means the change goes through unless MPs pass a motion to annul.
CBI calls for nationwide consultation to find alternative Brexit plan
Speaking at an Institute for Government event this morning, Carolyn Fairbairn, the director general of the CBI, said that businesses would not be “dancing in the streets” over the Brexit delay until 31 October. She said the new delay would provide “brief relief” for businesses worried about the “cliff edge” of a no deal. But she went on:
It will be quickly followed by frustration, exasperation, we’re still here. Six months will come around extremely quickly and I think members will already be thinking ‘but that’s the run-up to Christmas’.
I’m afraid there will be no dancing in the streets around this and I wouldn’t expect much in the way of ramming down of no-deal planning.
Fairbairn also said that the government should use the next fews months to set up a process to find an acceptable Brexit compromise. And that had to involve more than just Labour and the government holding talks, she said.
Our huge hope off the back of this six-month reprieve is that it’s used to set up a process and it’s not just people locked in a room on their own which we’ve seen in the last few days.
She said there should be a three to four-month initiative bringing together civic society and wider stakeholders to discuss Brexit.
It could ask the question ‘what kind of Brexit do we want?’ We should have done it two years ago, why don’t we do it now? Me personally, I might have liked a slightly longer extension to enable that to happen, but actually this focuses minds.
This sounds a bit like Gordon Brown’s proposal for a people’s royal commission to find a version of Brexit acceptable to the country.
Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, had a meeting in Brussels today with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator. She was accompanied by the Tory Brexiters Owen Paterson and Iain Duncan Smith. Afterwards she said:
We wanted to have the unionist voice heard so that he could hear the impact of the backstop and what it will do to the balance in Northern Ireland. We had good engagement around that issue today.
Duncan Smith said they had told Barnier about “alternative arrangements” to the backstop, and “what possibilities there were around the border”
Asked if she still had confidence in Theresa May, Foster said:
As you know the confidence and supply agreement that we signed was with the Conservative party and whoever the leader of the party is we will work with. We believe in national stability. We want to see Brexit delivered.
This is from my colleague Jessica Elgot.
Mood in Westminster feels a lot like the pressure valve has been released. They can't force May out, cabinet seemed resigned rather than resigning. Everyone desperate for a break. But will tone change when May stands up at 1?
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 11, 2019
During questions in the Commons earlier, Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, said the government was willing to “listen” to requests for a second referendum.
The SNP’s Joanna Cherry asked him what discussions the cabinet had had about holding a second referendum. Cox said he would not comment on what came up at cabinet, but he went on:
What I can say is this; the discussions that are currently going forward, with the Labour Party, with the opposition, are being pursued in good faith, there are no preconditions to it.
And of course we will listen to any suggestions that are made, whether it be about a second referendum or any other matter, to see if we can find common ground in the interest of the country to leave the European Union as swiftly as possible.
After the Commons business statement there will be a statement on discrimination in football. The prime minister’s statement on Brexit will come after that, which means it begin at some point after 1pm.
Two Government Statements today after Business Questions:
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) April 11, 2019
1. Discrimination in Football @DCMS_SecOfState
2. European Council @theresa_may
There will be a further ministerial statement on the arrest of Julian Assange after the PMs statement (Javid / Abbott)
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) April 11, 2019
Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, has just confirmed that, if MPs a motion on the order paper today, the house will rise for the Easter recess this afternoon and not return until Tuesday 23 April.
And she has just announced the business for the first week after Easter, which does not include any Brexit indicative votes, or the introduction of the long-awaited EU withdrawal agreement bill.
What should happen next with Brexit? Here is a Guardian Opinion panel, with answers from Simon Jenkins, Sonia Sodha, Stella Creasy and Henry Newman.
This is from the Conservative MP Johnny Mercer. Mercer is the backbencher who last year described his own government as a “shitshow”, and so you can understand why he might not be enormously popular with the whips.
Third one of these I’ve had of late, from an old Army contact. Contrast the values and ethos of that institution vs Parliament, and you’ll start to find answers of how we got the UK politically into such a mess. Values, integrity, ethos - never been more important, or more scarce pic.twitter.com/Xfdg2GSz4g
— Johnny Mercer MP (@JohnnyMercerUK) April 11, 2019
There is no formal process available to Conservative MPs if they want to remove Theresa May as leader in the immediate future because under party rules a new no confidence vote is not allowed until December. But Francis Elliott, the Times’ political editor, argues that with a new Queen’s speech due in the spring, May does face an existential threat.
There will be a lot of huff and puff about May's departure date today but as far as I can see she faces just one immediate existential threat - passing a Queen's Speech - and it's much closer than many realise https://t.co/mMm978Eqf9
— Francis Elliott (@elliotttimes) April 11, 2019
Here is an extract from his Times article (paywall).
The end of the parliamentary session also triggers a review of the Conservative government’s confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party, which was struck after the 2017 snap election in which the Tories lost their overall majority. The deal states that both parties are required to review its “aims, principles and implementation”.
The break clause was one reason why Mrs May decided to announce that the parliamentary session would last for two years, rather than the usual one year, in June 2017.
In the present climate, with the DUP implacably opposed to the Brexit deal as it stands, it is all but impossible to see the party issuing another guarantee to support a government led by Mrs May.
The ability to win a Commons vote approving a Queen’s Speech is a necessary condition for a viable government, but without a formal deal with the DUP Mrs May could not be certain it would pass.
Mujtaba Rahman, the former European commission official who writes well-regarded Brexit analyis for the Eurasia Group consultancy, thinks that as a result of last night’s EU decison, the chances of a delayed no-deal have increased, ‘perhaps substantially”. He makes a persuasive argument, in this short Twitter thread.
Back in Paris. Latest #Brexit piece will be out later, after chats with all sides so please watch this space. Instinctively, however, hard to argue risk of no deal hasn't risen - & perhaps substantially. Why? A very short thread
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 11, 2019
Assume there'll be little/no progress in UK by Oct. Either because @theresa_may has managed to cling on but can't get deal through, or because (more likely) she's been replaced by a more €sceptic PM who's committed to Canada or managed no-deal. Blockage with Commons remains 1/
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 11, 2019
In this situ, there'll be more MS on the Macron side of table come Oct #EUCO (eg @MinPres) probs others. Those who've been invested in deal for personal/legacy reasons (eg @eucopresident & @JunckerEU) will have less agency - basically out of the door or in full transition mode 2/
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 11, 2019
MS are members states.
It's not even clear Merkel's coalition will survive EP elex if SPD do v badly (we've 45% prob Govt collapses this year). EU will also have had 7 more months to prep for no deal. Will stress test all in talks today; but think too easy to assume EU will simply keep rolling ext /END
— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) April 11, 2019
Updated
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory Brexiter and chair of the European Research Group, which is pushing for a harder Brexit, was asked by reporters about the latest Brexit delay as he left home. He told them:
I thought the prime minister said a few weeks ago that she wouldn’t agree to any extension and now we are getting quite a long one. I don’t think it’s a good idea and it is not delivering on the referendum result.
People expected to leave on March 29 and here we are heading towards Halloween. There’s some symbolism in that I think.
He also said both main parties were not honouring the promises they made at the last election.
We should have left the European Union already and that’s what we need to deliver on.
The Conservative party was elected on a mandate of leaving the customs union, leaving the single market, and the prime minister needs to remember the votes that she won in that election, that gave her her mandate.
And the Labour party said at the same time it was committed to implementing the result of the referendum, so I think we are in a difficult political situation.
But Rees-Mogg also said he was not calling for Theresa May to resign. He explained:
I was involved in the vote of no confidence last year and I lost that, so I accept she is the leader of the Conservative party and the prime minister. I am not involved in any leadership efforts to remove her.
Here is a sensible question from BTL.
I've heard several times that it would take approximately 6 months to organise a referendum.
Why would it take this long if a General Election can be organised in 6 weeks?
There are two main reasons.
First, you need to pass legislation for a referendum, but not for a general election. This can take several months, and time needs to be allowed for the Electoral Commission to test the question being asked.
Second, under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA), there is a minimum 10-week period for the campaign. This allows time for the Electoral Commission to appoint a lead campaign group on either side - not something required in a general election.
This paper (pdf), from the Constitution Unit, explains it all in a lot more detail.
Spanish PM says Brexit shows what goes wrong when decision making is 'based on lies'
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the EU had fulfilled its fundamental obligation to safeguard the unity of the 27 while also working to build the best possible relationship with the UK after Brexit.
Sánchez said his government had “done its homework” when it came to preparing for a no-deal Brexit, and renewed his criticism of the Brexit campaign. He said:
The most important lesson we need to learn from what’s happening in the UK is that when decision-making processes, based on lies, are put in the hands of the people, societies – in this case British society – wind up down a blind alley.
We in the EU need to be conscious of the scale of the challenge British society is facing and we need to try to help it reach an agreement. Dates may vary, but the important thing is to give British politics the time it needs to find its way out of a situation that stems from a referendum held three years ago.
On Sky’s All Out Politics Maria Caulfield, a Tory Brexiter who reluctantly supported Theresa May’s deal in the last Commons vote, said she did not think May would be able to win over any more Tories. Caulfield said:
Talking to colleagues, those who are going to cross over and vote for the deal have done so ... As many MPs that were going to vote for the deal have done so. I think bringing it back for another time I don’t think is going to get us any further. And if we think Labour, with their cross-party talks, have any interest in resolving this matter, we are fooling ourselves.
Like David Davis earlier (see 9.01am), she also said the government should try again to get the EU to change the backstop.
But the EU has repeatedly ruled this out, and the EU communique issued last night (pdf) explicitly said that the withdrawal agreement would not be reopened. It said:
The European council reiterates that there can be no opening of the withdrawal agreement, and that any unilateral commitment, statement or other act should be compatible with the letter and the spirit of the withdrawal agreement and must not hamper its implementation.
Updated
Pressure on May to resign will 'increase dramatically', says David Davis
David Davis, who resigned as Brexit secretary last summer because he opposed Theresa May’s Chequers plan, told the BBC this morning that the pressure on May to resign would “increase dramatically” following last night’s agreement. He told the BBC:
I think what is likely to happen is the pressure for her to go will go up. The pressure on her to go will increase dramatically, I suspect, now. Whether it will come to anything - who knows?
Asked if May would still be PM at the time of the party conference in the autumn, he replied:
I think it is going to be difficult because by that time we will have had a European election which will become a plebiscite, really, on Brexit. And I suspect you will see a very successful rise of a, sort of, Brexit movement, the Nigel Farage thing, and so on. So, that will be quite difficult. I think it will be very difficult for her.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has expressed her relief that the UK will not be exiting the EU with no deal, adding that a second referendum on Brexit was now “imperative”. She tweeted:
It is a relief that - thanks to the patience of the EU - we will not be crashing out tomorrow. But the UK must not waste this time - allowing people to decide if they still want to leave is now imperative. And Scotland’s interests must be protected.
It is a relief that - thanks to the patience of the EU - we will not be crashing out tomorrow. But the UK must not waste this time - allowing people to decide if they still want to leave is now imperative. And Scotland’s interests must be protected.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) April 11, 2019
Holyrood’s Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh has meanwhile confirmed that the Scottish parliament will not be recalled this afternoon: he had previously warned MSPs they would be recalled from 1pm on Thursday if the UK was due to leave the EU without a deal on Friday.
The SNP’s Europe spokesperson Stephen Gethins MP told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland that there was “plenty time” to hold a referendum before Hallowe’en, pointing out that when Labour won the general election in 1997 the referendum to establish a Scottish parliament took place 133 days after that, and there are 204 days until the end of October.
Later on the same programme, Scottish secretary David Mundell insisted that Theresa May will lead her party into the European elections, adding that the government was open to discussing a customs union with Labour.
Agenda for the day
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver.
Here is the timetable for the day.
10.10am: Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, takes questions in the Commons.
After 11am: Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, makes a business statement in the Commons.
After 12pm: Theresa May makes a statement to MPs about the article 50 extension.
David Davis says UK should try again to get changes to backstop
The former Brexit secretary, David Davis, has called for the withdrawal agreement to be renegotiated and for technical solutions to the Irish border issue to be revisited under a managed no deal.
To the incredulity of MPs and commentators Davis insisted that the Malthouse compromise still offered the best solution to the Brexit deadlock.
Speaking on Today he said:
I think the house is panicky about no deal unnecessarily. The one thing that the House of Commons has voted for, the so-called Brady compromise or the Malthouse compromise. What that means is the deal that the prime minister has put forward but with some modifications so that we don’t have Northern Ireland as it were pushed out of the United Kingdom.
That is the one thing that the House has voted for. I don’t quite know why the prime minister has never put it to Brussels.
The EU has repeatedly ruled out renegotiating the withdrawal agreement.
Davis added:
No-deal is not perfect. It will have turbulence in the short term, but actually it is all perfectly manageable. No deal can be done. The Bank of England has got this wrong many many times.
Davis also claimed talks with the EU could be reset by Theresa May’s successor. He said:
If she does go there will be a new leader then there will be a reset in the negotiations. Any new leader will go over there and say look ‘this has not worked, we want to start from scratch, particularly on the Northern Ireland issues’.
The best outcome one could practically hope for is a return an alternative to the backstop, which allows us to have an invisible border in Northern Ireland.
Everybody really knows that there is a technical answer for Northern Ireland. That’s where we should be looking. If we get that sorted out we get out of the Union and on to the next stage of the negotiation.
Reaction to the interview has been scathing.
Here are three opposition MPs on the interview.
David Davis stuck on a loop on #r4today.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 11, 2019
Once again spouting the same nonsense about reopening May's deal and claiming every expert is wrong about No Deal being an economic catastrophe.
Brexiteers have run out of ideas and their lies have been exposed. Let's #PutItToThePeople
Oh God! On such an important morning @BBCr4today thinks the answer is to get the clueless David Davis on for its main interview to witter on about the dead as a dodo “Brady compromise”. 🙄 #BrexitShambles #FinalSay #PeoplesVote
— Ben Bradshaw (@BenPBradshaw) April 11, 2019
John Humphreys allowing David Davis to make all sorts of sweeping assertions on the EU in a cosy fireside chat on #r4today ..
— Angus B MacNeil MP (@AngusMacNeilSNP) April 11, 2019
Just allowing misinformation
...reality is UK controls own migration and most "migrants" come from outwith EU 🙄
And here are three journalists.
Brexit has now been delayed twice, the EU has said 14000 times that the withdrawal agreement can’t be renegotiated but David Davis is still on Today suggesting that May just needs to ask them to take out the backstop.
— Stuart Millar (@stuartmillar159) April 11, 2019
David Davis on R4 seems to have a Brexit deal that will get through parliament: the Brady amendment. Yes, that one that enough MPs agree on but the EU has *repeatedly* insisted is impossible. It’s just a “negotiating position” by the EU, apparently.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) April 11, 2019
Listening to Brexit Bulldog, David Davis, on @r4Today is to be reminded just how hopeless Team Brexit has been in putting together and sustaining a coherent position for more than 2o minutes: cheerfully casual, as usual
— MichaelWhite (@michaelwhite) April 11, 2019
Updated
UK formally accepts article 50 extension to 31 October
The UK’s ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, has written to European Council President Donald Tusk to formally accept the Halloween extension.
Sky’s Faisal Islam has the letter.
Early hours UK ambassador to EU Sir Tim Barrow writes to the EU Council to confirm legally the Brexit extension: pic.twitter.com/wlGudT66TO
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) April 11, 2019
Updated
The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, who is one several members of Labour’s front bench sceptical about another referendum, says he now accepts a people’s vote may offer a solution to the Brexit deadlock.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast he said:
Some sort of people’s vote may be necessary as a way out of this impasse. Now that the deadline has been extended we are trying to see if a compromise can be sorted. If that can’t be done, if the prime minister won’t move on red lines, then yes of course a public vote of some description may be needed as a way out of this mess.
Speaking before another day of cross-party Brexit talks with the government Burgon set out where Labour wants Theresa May to compromise. He said:
She needs to move on her red line on a permanent customs union. She needs to do more to reassure us about workers’ rights and environmental protections.
Crucially ... we need to have some certainty that anything positive that is agreed isn’t going to be ripped up by whoever comes after her, whether it be Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Michael Gove or anyone else.
She needs to propose some kind of binding arrangements or some kind of safeguards so that anything positive agreed in these talks isn’t just thrown in the rubbish bin by whoever comes after her.
Asked how Labour was prepared to compromise, Burgon said:
We are prepared to consider all different options to break this impasse.
We voted for a people’s vote in wider circumstances than our strict policy makes provision for, in the votes twice the other week. That shows that we are open minded about this. We are going into these discussions with good faith in the national interest.
Updated
The Brexit minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, has been put up by the government to put a brave face on the extension.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he insisted the “extension is long enough to get a deal through. Ideally we would like to get the deal through by 22 May.”
He added: “It is not a secret that it is a difficult negotiation.”
Kwarteng appeared to accept the UK would have to hold European elections on 23 May.
He pointed out that if the UK hadn’t agreed a deal by then it was legally obliged to hold the elections. He added: “Do I want this to happen? No.”
Updated
Speaking on ITV’s Peston last night, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said Labour was concerned that agreements it reached with May would not be honoured by a future Conservative leader.
One of the key issues for us in the discussions, they are confidential discussions at the moment, but obviously the agenda included for us how do we entrench any agreement that we achieve… We’ve gone in there positively and constructively, we’ve been in there trying to secure a deal which we think would work. But we’ve always said clearly our big worry is if we can make a deal with Theresa May, what happens when she goes?
Jeremy Hunt was asked on Peston whether he would honour any deals Theresa May agrees with Labour in coming weeks to get Brexit through parliament if he were to become prime minister. He replied:
The reality is that to get the Brexit deal through, the withdrawal agreement bill has to be ratified in law and it is the contents of that bill that will constitute any cross-party agreements that allows parliament to vote that through, so it’ll be a matter of the law, not a matter of...
Peston said: “Laws can change, prime ministers can change laws.”
“If they have a majority in parliament,” said Hunt. “It may have escaped your attention, Robert, that no-one has a majority in Parliament to change laws.”
Updated
Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said in a statement businesses will be relieved, “but their frustration with this seemingly endless political process is palpable”.
For most businesses, the ‘flextension’ agreed by the European Council will be preferable to deadlines that are repeatedly moved forward at the last possible moment.
This extension buys Parliament some time to come to a consensus, but they can’t afford to squander it. Politicians must urgently agree on a way forward.
It would be a disaster for business confidence and investment if a similar late-night drama is played out yet again in October. Our businesses and our communities need answers to plan for the future, and the government must return its focus to pressing domestic issues, which have been ignored or marginalised for too long.
In the event that the Withdrawal Agreement is passed by Parliament, businesses need a clear timetable and fair warning of the UK’s planned exit date, particularly those trading in countries where the UK has not yet finalised much-needed trade continuity agreements.
Updated
Another excellent reader question.
@MsKateLyons a question from a reader: does parliament has to approve the #brexit delay today? And if so, how will it be done?
— Pavel Richter (@pavel) April 11, 2019
Andrew Sparrow, anticipating you, wrote this answer before he signed off yesterday’s blog in the early hours of the morning:
Some of you may be wondering whether, under the terms of the Yvette Cooper bill (the one passed on Monday, against the wishes of the government, requiring the PM to request an article 50 extension) Theresa May has to come back to the Commons and get MPs to agree the new article 50 extension timetable, given that it is different from the one MPs voted to support on Tuesday.
The answer is no. The bill, as originally drafted, would have required a second vote in the Commons in these circumstances. But when the bill was in the Lords an amendment passed by Lord Goldsmith, the Labour peer, removed this requirement. Goldsmith argued that it would create uncertainty, because the PM could end up agreeing a new date at the EU summit and then needing to obtain retrospective backing for it in the Commons.
Updated
Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, has this to say about the agreement reached last night.
This new extension means imminent economic crisis has been averted, but it needs to mark a fresh start. For the good of jobs and communities across the country, all political leaders must use the time well. Sincere cross-party collaboration must happen now to end this chaos.
— Carolyn Fairbairn (@cbicarolyn) April 11, 2019
Updated
#EU27 & UK have agreed a flexible #Brexit extension until 31 October.
— EU Council (@EUCouncil) April 11, 2019
Watch the summary of the special #EUCO & find out more about the ocutome of the meeting: https://t.co/Y6UiTiIglm pic.twitter.com/9JuScDcGzT
A “no-deal” Brexit remains a possibility, French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye told French TV station CNews on Thursday.
“It is not impossible that we could again have a no-deal Brexit,” she said.
European Union leaders have given Britain six more months to leave the bloc, more than Prime Minister Theresa May says she needs but less than many in the bloc wanted, thanks to fierce resistance from France.
However, if May fails to win over MPs on the treaty or fails to hold an election, Britain will leave with no deal on 1 June.
Updated
Back on the question of whether there’s enough time for a second referendum, this Brexit extension is being seized upon by MPs in favour of a People’s Vote.
Just enough time for a @peoplesvote_uk..... https://t.co/Pe6kDiSGMS
— Ian Murray (@IanMurrayMP) April 11, 2019
The British people have been given a lifeline
— Tom Brake MP (@thomasbrake) April 11, 2019
A flextension until 31st Oct is long enough to hold a #PeoplesVote
Will @theresa_may and @jeremycorbyn surprise us all by agreeing to test the will of the people?
Or will they let their narrow party and personal interests prevail?
Updated
Trump criticises EU for being 'tough' on UK and Brexit
A confusing contribution from Donald Trump to the Brexit discussions.
Too bad that the European Union is being so tough on the United Kingdom and Brexit. The E.U. is likewise a brutal trading partner with the United States, which will change. Sometimes in life you have to let people breathe before it all comes back to bite you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2019
Updated
A question from a reader:
Will there will be time to arrange and hold a second referendum? If so what would the timetable be for such an eventuality?
That’s a very good question, John, thanks.
A referendum on the Brexit deal would take at least six months to organise legally, constitutional experts told our Brexit correspondent Lisa O’Carroll last year, which would mean there is enough time – just.
Lewis Goodall from Sky News, spoke to the Electoral Commission yesterday who confirmed this was the case.
If October 31st is the new Brexit date then, according to what the @ElectoralCommUK told me last week, there is *just* enough time for a referendum, if parliament were so minded.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) April 10, 2019
Full text of Theresa May's statement after EU agreed to delay Brexit until 31 October
Here is the full text of Theresa May’s statement at her press conference in the early hours of this morning.
I have just met with Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, where I agreed an extension to the Brexit process to the end of October at the latest.
I continue to believe we need to leave the EU, with a deal, as soon as possible. And vitally, the EU have agreed that the extension can be terminated when the withdrawal agreement has been ratified — which was my key request of my fellow leaders.
For example, this means that, if we are able to pass a deal in the first three weeks of May, we will not have to take part in European elections and will officially leave the EU on Saturday, 1st June.
During the course of the extension, the European council is clear that the UK will continue to hold full membership rights, as well as its obligations.
As I said in the room tonight, there is only a single tier of EU membership, with no conditionality attached beyond existing treaty obligations.
Let me conclude by saying this.
I know that there is huge frustration from many people that I had to request this extension. The UK should have left the EU by now and I sincerely regret the fact that I have not yet been able to persuade parliament to approve a deal which would allow the UK to leave in a smooth and orderly way.
But the choices we now face are stark and the timetable is clear.
So we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest.
Tomorrow I will be making a statement to the House of Commons.
Further talks will also take place between the government and the opposition to seek a way forward.
I do not pretend the next few weeks will be easy or that there is a simple way to break the deadlock in Parliament.
But we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the Referendum, deliver Brexit and move our country forward.
Nothing is more pressing or more vital.
Updated
The news broke too late to make it onto many of the front pages (though if you see that the news is on the front pages of late editions of other papers, please tweet me!).
The deadline did make it onto the late edition of the Guardian. Here’s our front page:
The Guardian front page, 11 April 2019: Europe listens to May and says no. Britain told leave by October 31st pic.twitter.com/rz0HbkaBAB
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 11, 2019
And the Metro’s front page deserve a special mention:
Thursday's front page:
— Metro Newspaper UK (@MetroUKNews) April 10, 2019
As EU dictates Britain's future
WHAT BREXIT
LOOKS LIKE
FROM SPACE#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #skypapers pic.twitter.com/vZ1dzsFQX4
Here’s how the Mail and Telegraph covered the news online when it broke:
Donald Tusk said that the Brexit extension was “as flexible as he expected but also shorter than he expected. This is due to French President Emmanuel Macron who took responsibility for blocking a long Brexit delay and convincing other European Union leaders to agree to a shorter one.
“It’s true that the majority was more in favour of a very long extension. But it was not logical in my view, and above all, it was neither good for us, nor for the UK,” he said.
“I take responsibility for this position, I think it’s for the collective good,” the French leader added before leaving the European Council in Brussels.
The video of Macron’s comments (in French) is below.
Déclaration d'@EmmanuelMacron à l'issue du Conseil européen extraordinaire #Brexit #EUCO #art50 pic.twitter.com/5b9COgjcv1
— La France dans l'UE (@RPFranceUE) April 11, 2019
#EUCO on #Brexit:
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) April 11, 2019
-Extension of article 50 granted until 31 October.
-UK to organise #EUelections2019 if Withdrawal agreement not ratified by 22 May.
-No reopening of the Withdrawal Agreement.
-Principle of sincere cooperation will apply to UK. https://t.co/WtzR97QDcO pic.twitter.com/4JFouDo1L9
Good morning and welcome to the politics live blog, the morning after EU leaders met to debate whether to offer an extension to article 50 to the UK.
After marathon six-hour talks, EU leaders offered Theresa May an extension until 31 October, with a “review” to be conducted on 30 June. May did not need to take this deal back to parliament and was able to agree to the deal at the time, which she did. Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, said:
During this time, what happens will be in the hands of the UK. It can ratify the withdrawal agreement, and leave. It can change strategy, although not the withdrawal agreement. Or it can decide to revoke and cancel Brexit altogether.
Speaking afterwards, Theresa May repeatedly ducked questions about her future as prime minister, after having previously said she would not accept an extension beyond 30 June.
She simply insisted that the UK “can still leave on May 22 and not hold those European parliamentary elections” if parliament passes the withdrawal deal.
May also once again blamed MPs for being the cause of public frustration over the failure to implement Brexit. Asked whether she should apologise for the UK still being in the EU, she said: “Over the last three months I have voted three times to leave the European Union. If sufficient members of parliament had voted with me in January we would already be out of the European Union.”
I’ll be keeping this blog ticking over until I hand it to my colleagues, if you have Brexit questions, please get in touch through the comments, via email (kate.lyons@theguardian.com) or on Twitter.
Thanks for reading along, especially so early in the morning, let’s get started!
Andrew - factual question. Does the Yvette Cooper Bill protect us indefinitely from a No Deal Brexit? (In October, if we're still in an impasse, would May or any PM have to come back to Parliament and be forced to request another extension? If the answer is that we're not protected indefinitely, presumably Cooper and co could re-run this week's exercise. I.e. The fact that there's a majority against No Deal, in both the Commons and the Lords, does give us lasting protection - unless the EU itself eventually chucks us out?).