Brexit looks increasingly likely to be delayed beyond the scheduled exit of March 29, Cabinet ministers today revealed to the Standard.
A backlog of at least six essential Bills that must be passed before Britain leaves the European Union has left ministers convinced the timetable will be extended.
They include the much-delayed Immigration Bill that has not yet even been published, let alone debated.
Even asking MPs to sit at weekends and cancel their half-term holiday in February may not provide enough time to avoid asking for a delay, several sources have disclosed.
A senior minister said: “The legislative timetable is now very very tight indeed.
Certainly, if there was defeat on Tuesday and it took some time before it got resolved, it’s hard to see how we can get all the legislation through by March 29.
The development comes as:
- Senior ministers told the Standard that a majority of the Cabinet now support the idea of staging indicative votes in the Commons to see if a different Brexit plan is supported, despite Theresa May publicly opposing the idea.
- Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd refused three times on live radio to deny she would resign if the Prime Minister attempted a disorderly departure from the EU without securing a withdrawal deal.
- Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that Brexit paralysis was a risk if MPs vote down Mrs May’s deal on Tuesday but lack a majority for a different deal. He said it was clear that a no-deal Brexit would be blocked by Parliament following the landmark votes earlier this week.
A BBC analysis estimates the Government is heading for defeat on Mrs May’s withdrawal blueprint by a crushing margin of 228 votes next week.
Mrs May is committed to coming back to the Commons by Monday January 21 with proposals for a new way forward, opening the door to MPs to force votes on rival Plan Bs.
The prospect of a delay to the Article 50 process arises because in addition to the deal itself, MPs need to pass a Trade Bill, Agriculture Bill, Fisheries Bill, Healthcare Bill, a Financial services Bill and an Immigration Bill that is not expected to be even published until next week..
It follows reports from Brussels this week that British officials have already put out feelers about whether the other 27 EU countries would be willing to approve a limited extension of the Article 50 process that set a two-year deadline for Britain to leave the bloc.
A senior Downing Street spokesman said Mrs May had been very clear that Britain would be leaving the EU on March 29 as planned.
A minister said there was strong resistance around the Cabinet table to any delay. Nobody desires it, they said. “We may have to sit down and really prioritise. But we would then be in an emergency crisis situation.
Ministers think Mrs May will have to allow indicative votes on alternative plans including a People’s Vote and a Norway deal – if she loses heavily.
But a senior Tory warned: Junior ministers and PPS would feel very very aggrieved if they did not have a free vote.
You would get some resignations. Ministers have got to think well the process would work.