Theresa May will ask for a Brexit extension of no more than three months and then use it to try to force through her deal because Britain is 'fed up' of waiting to leave the EU, it was revealed today.
Mrs May abandoned her plan to ask the EU for a nine-month Brexit delay or longer after furious Brexiteer cabinet ministers threatened to quit and told her the Tory party would only accept a wait until June.
The Brexit delay has split her cabinet with pro-Brexit ministers in triumphant mood while outraged Remainer ministers today said it was Mrs May's 'most craven surrender to the hardliners yet'. The plan she is pursuing was branded 'downright reckless' by her deputy David Lidington just a week ago.
Britain is due to leave the EU next Friday, March 29, but after failing to get her deal through parliament last week the Prime Minister will tomorrow ask the EU to extend the deadline at a Brussels summit. If they do not, Britain leaves with No Deal.
A No 10 insider said today: 'The PM won't be asking for a long extension. There is a case for giving Parliament a bit more time to agree a way forward. But people in this country have been waiting nearly three years, they are fed up with Parliament's failure to take decision and the PM shares that frustration'.
The Prime Minister is expected to write to the EU today asking for a shorter extension but Jean-Claude Juncker said she might have to hold a vote before any delay is agreed. An emergency EU summit has been scheduled next week to make a final decision.
But confusion reigned this morning when Education Secretary Damian Hinds said that a third meaningful vote on the PM's deal might not take place next week because it is not certain she will win.
Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom, who yesterday blasted ministers for failing to deliver Brexit and hinted she could resign, told LBC today: 'I'm quite sure it will only be a short extension. It's absolutely essential we're out of the EU before the European elections'.
She also said John Bercow's ruling to prevent a third vote on Mrs May's deal is 'subordinate to the views of parliament' and said: 'He needs to remain impartial. I've had some questions about it'.
Last night the hardline Tory ERG Brexiteer group met with 17 of the 20 members present calling for her to quit and tonight the PM will face the 1922 committee of backbenchers to explain why she has chosen to delay Brexit.
Outspoken Tory MP Nadine Dorries said today: 'I think probably we do need a new Prime Minister'.
Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street today as she prepares to ask the EU for an extension having promised Britain would leave the EU on March 29
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker blew kisses to photographers and planted a real one on the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier today as he warned Mrs May he deal may have to pass if she wants an extension
John Bercow collects coffee and breakfast outside Parliament this morning as he is expected to agree an emergency debate on Brexit later
Just a week ago Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, considered Mrs May's deputy, said: 'In the absence of a deal, seeking such a short and, critically, one-off extension would be downright reckless' - but now his boss is making that move.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has warned that 'any delay' will cause problems for Conservative local election prospects in May.
EU might not give UK a delay to Brexit if MPs do not agree a deal first, top Brussels bureaucrat warns
Jean-Claude Juncker suggested an emergency summit might be required next week
Theresa May has been warned that EU leaders might not agree to a Brexit delay tomorrow if she arrives at a key summit in Brussels without a deal agreed by MPs.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker suggested that an emergency summit might be needed next week - potentially just hours before Brexit day - for an extension to Article 50 to be approved.
He said that Mrs May 'must bring approval of the negotiated deal and she must bring clear ideas on timing' to the European Council in Brussels tomorrow or face a humiliating rejection.
Mr Juncker told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the remaining 27 members states' hands were tied until the political indecision in London was resolved.
'My impression is ... that this week at the European Council there will be no decision, but that we will probably have to meet again next week, because Mrs. May doesn't have agreement to anything, either in her Cabinet or in Parliament,' Mr Juncker added.
'As long as we don't know what Britain could say yes to, we can't reach a decision.'
The Chingford and Woodforod Green MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There is real, real resistance and concern in the Conservative Party, not just in Parliament but on a much wider spectrum around the country in the run-up to the May elections.
'This will without question cannon into the May elections and cause real issues and concerns on the doorstep.
'Any delay creates a bow wave of problems, not just for the Government here but for the governing party and, frankly, for all those people who voted to leave thinking ... we would leave on March 29.'
Labour's Alison McGovern will call for an emergency debate in the Commons on Brexit todayt.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said this morning the EU would not automatically say yes to a short extension and is unlikely to reach any decision on Brexit at tomorrow's summit in Brussels.
Pointing to the political turmoil in London over Britain's plans to leave the EU, Juncker told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the remaining 27 members states' hands were tied until that was resolved.
'As long as we don't know what Britain could say yes to, no decision can be taken on our side either,' he said.
The new Brexit date Mrs May will ask for has not yet been revealed but Tory MP Damian Green, a former cabinet minister and close friend of Mrs May, predicted that the PM's letter to Donald Tusk will request a delay until May 22 'so the PM can have another go at getting the deal through.'
With nine days until Brexit, the EU is understood to be willing to agree a delay either at a summit in Brussels tomorrow or an emergency meeting of its 27 leaders next week - but sources have claimed that their price for a much longer extension to Article 50 could be a General Election or second referendum.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: 'The Prime Minister appears to be pursing a course of action that her own deputy last week described as reckless.
'Theresa May is desperate once again to impose a binary choice between her deal and no-deal despite Parliament clearly ruling out both of those options last week.
'What the Government should be doing is showing real leadership, making good on their commitment to break the deadlock and secure an extension with a genuine purpose.'
Andrea Leadsom accused Cabinet Remainers of frustrating Brexit, and hinted she could quit (pictured leaving the meeting on Tuesday)
Andrea Leadsom 'tore into' Cabinet Remainers for thwarting Brexit yesterday as she hit out at plans for a lengthy delay – and hinted she could quit.
During a fiery meeting of the Cabinet, the Commons leader rounded on colleagues for losing their nerve and allowing the UK to be dragged into asking for a humiliating delay.
Jeremy Corbyn will go to Brussels TOMORROW to meet Michel Barnier hours before Theresa May faces EU leaders to ask for a Brexit delay
Mr Corbyn will meet Michel Barnier tomorrow morning, giving him an opportunity to put across his Brexit views hours before Mrs May faces the EU27 leaders at what is likely to be a stormy European Council meeting
Jeremy Corbyn will meet the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator tomorrow just hours before Theresa May faces European leaders.
In a development that will pour fresh pressure on the Prime Minister the opposition leader will met Michel Barnier in Brussels on Thursday morning, the Guardian reported.
The meeting will give Mr Corbyn a chance to put forward Labour’s alternative Brexit plan and also discuss the possibility of a second referendum taking place.
Mr Corbyn yesterday met with the Westminster leaders of the other opposition parties to discuss a new vote, which resulted in a request to swing behind a referendum and stop ‘prevaricating’.
But he also later met with MPs who support a soft Brexit that would keep Britain closely aligned with the EU, potentially including retaining freedom of movement.
Mr Barnier yesterday tore into Theresa May's attempt to keep her delay options open by suggesting she must present leaders this week with a clear idea how the UK wants to stay in.
Michel Barnier told reporters today that any longer extension to Article 50 would only be considered if there was 'a new political process' in the UK to justify it.
At a Brussels press conference Mr Barnier stressed that it was ultimately a decision for EU27 leaders at the European Council meeting on Thursday, he said: 'The EU authorities want to know what the underlying political process which would be the grounds for that extension would be - political process within the House of Commons or in the general political debate in the UK.'
Mr Barnier added: 'It is our duty to ask whether this extension would be useful because an extension will be something which would extend uncertainty, and uncertainty costs.'
He added: 'What would be the purpose and outcome? How could we be sure that at the end of a possible extension we are not back in the same situation as today?'
She said: 'This used to be the Cabinet that would deliver Brexit and now, from what I'm hearing, it's not.'
Education Secretary Damian Hinds has said a shorter rather than longer extension to Article 50 is the right option for the Prime Minister to request.
Speaking on the BBC Today programme, he said: 'I don't see how a long delay gives certainty, actually, we've had a long time already.
'Unless and until a deal is finalised there remains the prospect, the risk, of no deal.
'In terms of timing there has already been two-plus years to do this and I think people are a bit tired of waiting for Parliament to get our act together and get the deal passed.'
Mrs May was forced into a humiliating retreat after being put under severe pressure by senior ministers at a cabinet meeting last night and is now expected to write to Donald Tusk for a three month extension, rather than ask for a lengthier departure date.
The sudden change of direction left some ministers reeling, one told The Sun: 'Nobody knows what the f*** is going on, or even who in No10 is actually gripping it. Maybe nobody is.
'The whole thing is a national humiliation on a scale we have not seen in many, many decades - if ever before.'
At the 90-minute cabinet meeting ministers were at loggerheads on just how long a potential extension would be.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and International Trade chief Liam Fox were thought to be against a lengthy delay, as was Commons leader Andrea Leadsom.
She said: 'This used to be the cabinet that would deliver Brexit and now from what I'm hearing it's not.'
It comes a thousand days on from the 2016 referendum – and just ten days before the UK is due to leave the Brussels club.
She told ministers that parliamentary opposition to No Deal, the rejection of her plan by MPs and John Bercow's decision to block a third vote this week meant she had been forced to try to put off the March 29 departure date.
Tomorrow she will travel to Brussels to establish the terms of an extension to Article 50 before putting it to the Commons next week.
During a stormy session of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister rounded on Mr Bercow for dredging up a 17th century convention in order to block a third vote on her plan. She said the Speaker was making a laughing stock of Parliament.
In the wake of his ruling, which came as a surprise to No 10, Mrs May told ministers: 'The Speaker has framed this debate as Parliament versus the Government. But what it actually is now is Parliament versus the people.'
A Cabinet source said: 'The only thing agreed this morning was that everyone hates Bercow.' The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mrs May had predicted a crisis if MPs rejected her deal for a second time, adding: 'That situation has come to pass.'
In other developments:
- Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, warned the EU would attach strict conditions to any delay;
- Boris Johnson used face-to-face talks with Mrs May to warn her that he remains opposed to her deal;
- Andrea Leadsom accused Cabinet Remainers of frustrating Brexit, and hinted she could quit;
- Unconfirmed reports suggested the PM could make a final bid to get her deal through the Commons next Thursday – the day before Britain is due to leave;
- Mrs May warned the Cabinet that if a long delay is agreed, the UK would have to hold elections to the European Parliament in May;
- Downing Street said there were no circumstances in which Mrs May would revoke Article 50;
- Jeremy Corbyn and more than 100 MPs took time out from the Brexit crisis to attend the boozy British kebab awards in Westminster;
- Mrs May's efforts to win DUP backing for her withdrawal plan have stalled.
- Angela Merkel took a swipe at Mr Bercow, saying: 'I'll concede that I wasn't actively aware of the British Parliament's rules of procedure from the 17th century.'
An historic edition of the Daily Mail published with a sense of optimism for the road ahead
Mrs May told the Cabinet she would ask for an extension with a break clause that could allow the UK to leave the EU by June 30 if her withdrawal agreement is passed.
But she acknowledged that, with no deal agreed, and the UK due to leave next week, she would also have to seek a longer extension.
Ministers were not given the proposed end date of the longer extension, with allies of the PM apparently fearing a leak to the media.
Downing Street denied reports that Mrs May was ready to ask for a delay lasting up to two years.
Her deputy David Lidington is said to have told his EU counterparts that she would seek a delay of nine to 12 months unless she can get her deal through in the coming weeks. No 10 dismissed the report yesterday.
But a Cabinet source said it was already clear that nine months would not be long enough because the new European Commission will not be in place until the autumn. 'A nine-month extension is a joke,' the source said. 'There will be no one to talk to in Brussels until October – the idea we can get a new deal agreed in three months is ridiculous.
'All it means is we'll have to go through this humiliating exercise again at Christmas. What is the point?'
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said the UK would need to provide a 'very persuasive plan' to support any request for a long extension to the Article 50 negotiation process.
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leaves the Cabinet Office on Tuesday, he had face-to-face talks with Mrs May to tell her he continued to oppose her deal
Labour joins bid to force emergency debate on Brexit delay amid fears Bercow will trash procedure AGAIN to give MPs control
Labour joined a move to force an emergency debate on Brexit delay today amid fears John Bercow (pictured today in Westminster) will trash Commons procedure again to hand MPs control
Labour joined a move to force an emergency debate on Brexit delay today amid fears John Bercow will trash Commons procedure again to hand MPs control.
Rumours are swirling in Westminster of an attempt to stage votes later today on what kind of Brexit Parliament will support on the eve of a crucial EU summit.
Labour will back the plan if Theresa May refuses to make a statement on her plans. She is giving no formal statement - but will appear at PMQs at noon.
Mrs May will fly to Brussels tomorrow to ask for a short delay to Brexit - apparently to use as leverage to get her deal agreed by MPs next week.
Her move flouts warnings from her own deputy just six days ago that requesting a short delay without the deal already agreed would be 'downright reckless'.
Downing Street is still scrambling to recover from Mr Bercow's ruling on Monday that Mrs May could not call a new vote before the summit without changing the deal.
Amid the chaos in Westminster caused by his bombshell, Labour MP Alison McGovern will today try to call a debate using rules known as 'Standing Order 24' after Prime Minister's Questions.
Normally debates called using the rule are about a general issue and cannot order the Government to do anything specific.
In this case, Ms McGovern wants a debate on the state of Brexit - but the Commons Speaker hinted on Monday he could unilaterally change the rules to make an emergency debate more powerful.
He said of emergency debates that the 'opportunities are fuller than has traditionally been acknowledged'.
If Mr Bercow flouts the normal rules and allows MPs to table amendments, it could lead to a series of votes on different Brexit proposals tonight.
A Labour spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister should make a statement.
'If she doesn't, we will support all measures to force a debate in Parliament on this matter.'
Former Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan said both Parliament and the Government had to get a grip to prevent a slide into political chaos.
Mrs Morgan said: 'It is jaw-dropping. The country is watching horror-struck at the lack of decisions from Westminster.
'At a time when the country needs stable government, people are still indulging in what they would like rather than what can be achieved.'
Some ministers argued that the prospect of a long delay would pile pressure on the pro-Brexit Tory MPs of the European Research Group to back the PM. But Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested the move would backfire, telling her: 'Trust your instincts that a long extension would create division in the party.'
Mrs May's plan was defeated by 230 votes in January and again by 149 votes last week.
She had planned to put it to a vote again yesterday, but was blocked by Mr Bercow's ruling that MPs should not be asked to vote again on the same proposition.
Allies of the Prime Minister still believe it is possible that MPs could finally knuckle under next week.
Her official spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister is absolutely determined to find a way in which Parliament can vote to leave the EU with a deal.
'The PM wants that to happen as soon as possible.
'She does not want a long delay and believes that asking the British public to take part in European parliament elections three years after they have voted to leave would represent a failure by British politicians.'
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said there was a growing risk of no Brexit unless MPs agreed to back Mrs May's deal in the coming days.
Jeremy Corbyn indicated that he sees Monday as the point for Labour to mount a challenge to the Government's approach.
Speaking after talks with other opposition parties and Labour backbenchers on the way forward, Mr Corbyn said: 'If the Government can't get a majority for its way on Monday, then I think that's the time to challenge this Government.
'The reality is that this Government has lost its authority, doesn't enjoy the confidence of the House, can't get anything through.
'Surely that is the time to step aside and let the people decide in a people's vote that's called a general election.'
He added: 'I hope that on Monday the House will come together and support some sensible alternatives that can be negotiated during an extension period with the EU.'
Is that a bathing SUIT, Boris? Ex-Foreign Secretary is pictured on a sunshine break in Italy with his new partner - before heading back to Downing Street to rebuff May 's Brexit peace offer
Boris Johnson appeared slightly overdressed when strolling along an Italian beach with his ex-Tory aide girlfriend Carrie Symonds on Saturday - before being called back to the UK to meet Theresa May.
The former foreign secretary was yesterday called to Downing Street by the Prime Minister for last-ditch talks urging him to get behind her plan.
In a face-to-face meeting of around 40 minutes, Mrs May cautioned that failure to back her deal would result in a delayed departure from the EU.
Yet Mr Johnson, who had been enjoying a walk along the Fornillo beach, in Positano, this weekend, told the Prime Minister that he will still not vote for her deal despite her warning.
Boris Johnson appeared slightly overdressed when strolling along an Italian beach with his ex-Tory aide girlfriend Carrie Symonds on Saturday
Mr Johnson, who had been enjoying a walk along the Fornillo beach, in Positano, this weekend, was called back to Downing Street to meet Theresa May
Mr May also expressed concerns that MPs could seize control of the process, meaning Brexit could be watered down or might not happen at all.
But Mr Johnson told her he would not back down unless she successfully renegotiated the Irish backstop.
'His position remains the same,' said a friend. 'Unless there is some sort of movement on the backstop, he will not vote for the deal.'
In the meeting, Mrs May (pictured right arriving at church in Sonning, Berkshire, on Sunday) warned that if Mr Johnson did not back her deal it would result in a delayed departure from the EU
The source declined to comment on whether the pair discussed in their meeting the suggestion of some Brexiteers that Mrs May should set out a timetable for her own departure in return for Tory MPs passing her deal.
Critics of Mr Johnson have accused him of posturing ahead of a future Tory leadership contest. But his supporters argue he has been consistent in his opposition to Mrs May's plan.
In a newspaper column earlier this week, Mr Johnson argued it was not possible for 'anybody who believes in Brexit' to vote for the withdrawal agreement.
He told how he had sought advice from his local constituency association on whether to 'stick to my guns or fold'.
Mr Johnson (pictured leaving the Cabinet Office today) was hauled in for the 40-minute meeting with Mrs May today
He wrote: 'I could continue to oppose a deal that I believe is detrimental to the interests of this country, in the sense that we risk becoming a kind of economic colony of Brussels.
'Or else I could compromise, and vote it through, on the grounds that there was now a real risk that Brexit would not happen at all – and in the hope that the many defects in the deal could be fixed later.
'My constituents were strongly of the view that I should not compromise. They assured me that they would support whatever decision I took – but they believed I should continue to vote against the deal.'
Mr Johnson argued that Mrs May's agreement would leave the UK 'in a position of almost unbearable weakness' for subsequent talks on trade.
'Unless we have some change – and at present, in the immortal phrase, nothing has changed – it is hard to ask anyone who believes in Brexit to change their mind,' he said. 'There is an EU summit this week. It is not too late to get real change to the backstop. It would be absurd to hold the vote before that has even been attempted.'
Since quitting as foreign secretary last July, Mr Johnson has repeatedly used newspaper columns to attack Mrs May's Brexit strategy.
In his most controversial intervention, he claimed in September that her plans had strapped a 'suicide vest' around the UK constitution and handed the detonator to Brussels.
Mrs May needs 75 MPs who voted against her Brexit deal last week, when she lost by a majority of 149, to switch sides if it is to pass. She is hoping to win over the DUP's ten MPs.
Britain 'days away' from post-Brexit trade deal with Canada but time is running out for dozens more agreements to be signed
Britain is expected to sign a trade deal with Canada within days, but time is running out for dozens more agreements to be signed before Brexit.
Whitehall officials believe an agreement with Ottawa is achievable before March 29, when the UK is scheduled to leave the EU.
It will effectively copy Canada's economic pact with the EU for British companies after Brexit, and is a boost for Liam Fox's Department for International Development.
Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox, walking outside Downing Street yesterday, promised to secure up to 40 free-trade agreements in 2017, but the UK has so far only agreed seven
The UK is the biggest trading partner Canada has within the EU, so a deal is significant for both sides across the Atlantic.
Mr Fox, the International Trade Secretary, promised in 2017 to secure Britain up to 40 free-trade agreements replicating existing EU arrangements in time for Brexit 'one second after midnight'.
But the UK has only agreed seven, covering markets including Switzerland and Chile in the event of No Deal.
The Government has nine days to finalise at least two dozen such trade deals.
Firms will face higher tariffs and trade barriers abroad if it fails to do so.
According to a diplomatic note seen by The Times, Michel Barnier, the EU's lead Brexit negotiator, told European envoys on Friday that Britain was about to 'sign a free trade agreement with Canada'.
Michel Barnier, the EU's lead Brexit negotiator, told European envoys on Friday that Britain was about to 'sign a free trade agreement with Canada'
It comes as Mrs May is set to travel to Brussels to establish the terms of an extension to Article 50 before putting it to the Commons next week.
During a stormy session of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister rounded on Mr Bercow for dredging up a 17th century convention in order to block a third vote on her plan. She said the Speaker was making a laughing stock of Parliament.
In the wake of his ruling, which came as a surprise to No 10, Mrs May told ministers: 'The Speaker has framed this debate as Parliament versus the Government. But what it actually is now is Parliament versus the people.'
But the Prime Minister's plan to ask for a nine-month Brexit delay could be ditched after a furious bust up at cabinet yesterday between senior ministers.
Mrs May is now expected to ask Donald Tusk for a three month extension rather than her original plan of nine months.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and International Trade chief Liam Fox were thought to be against a lengthy delay, as was Commons leader Andrea Leadsom.
She said: 'This used to be the cabinet that would deliver Brexit and now from what I'm hearing it's not.'
It comes a thousand days on from the 2016 referendum – and just ten days before the UK is due to leave the Brussels club.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/20/brexit-theresa-may-will-ask-for-three-month-delay-and-no-longer/
Main photo article Theresa May will ask for a Brexit extension of no more than three months and then use it to try to force through her deal because Britain is ‘fed up’ of waiting to leave the EU, it was revealed today.
Mrs May abandoned her plan to ask the EU for a nine-month Brexit delay or longer...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/20/11/11223620-0-image-a-41_1553080605563.jpg
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