British Ministers Split Over Next Brexit Steps if PM's Deal Fails

• 12.20.2018, 14:45
•  Europe,  World

Reuters

 British ministers are divided over the government’s next steps if Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the European Union is not approved by parliament next month, Reuters reports.

With just under 100 days until Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, deep divisions in parliament have raised the chances of leaving without a deal and increased calls for a second referendum to break the deadlock.

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said late on Wednesday there would be a “plausible argument” for another referendum if parliament failed to reach a consensus on the way forward, something May has repeatedly ruled out.

House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said a so-called “people’s vote” would be unacceptable and a “managed” no deal would be an alternative.

May pulled a vote on her deal from parliament earlier this month after admitting it would be defeated.

She is seeking “assurances” from EU leaders over the so-called Irish backstop, an insurance policy to avoid a hard border between the British province and EU-member Ireland that its critics fear will trap Britain in a customs union with the EU indefinitely.

Leadsom said the government “intends and expects” to get May’s deal through parliament when it brings it back for a vote in mid-January.