Theresa May 'considering two-month Brexit delay' to stave off Article 50 rebellion
3 min read
Theresa May is considering plans to delay Brexit by up to two months in a bid to avoid a Cabinet revolt, it has been reported.
According to the Telegraph, Downing Street officials this weekend circulated a proposal to ask Brussels for an extension to Article 50.
The report comes just hours after Mrs May confirmed that the second meaningful vote on her Brexit deal will not take place until 12 March - teeing up the prospect of a fresh clash with her Cabinet.
Top ministers Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark have already signalled publicly that they are prepared to back a cross-party Commons bid to extend Article 50 this week if Mrs May does not get backing for a Brexit deal.
But the Telegraph reports that Number 10 could try to pre-empt that plot by asking the EU for a delay.
While the Downing Street plans do not include a timeframe for the Article 50 extension, ministers are said to believe that it will be no longer than two months.
Mrs May told reporters as she arrived for an EU-Arab League summit last night that it was "still within our grasp to leave with a deal on March 29".
'RUNNING DOWN THE CLOCK'
But her decision to delay the meaningful vote on her Brexit deal until just 17 days before Britain is due to leave the bloc has already triggered an angry backlash from MPs and business groups.
Yvette Cooper, who is spearheading the cross-party push to seek an Article 60 extension, said the Prime Minister's move made it "even more vital that the House of Commons votes for our bill to try to restore some common sense to this process".
The CBI business lobby group meanwhile accused the Prime Minister of "running down the clock", and warned: "This is the latest signal to businesses that no deal is hurtling closer. It must be averted. Every day without a deal means less investment and fewer jobs created."
Adam Marshall of the British Chambers of Commerce described it as "unbelievable" that firms would now get just 17 days' notice on "the biggest economic and trading change they face in a generation".
'COUNTRY FIRST'
The Prime Minister is also facing fresh calls from her own party to close down the option of a no-deal Brexit in March, with Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood telling The Times that Mrs May should "put country first and rule no-deal out".
And Tory MP Simon Hart will today table a new amendment urging the Prime Minister to extend Article 50 if she cannot get Commons backing for her deal.
According to the Telegraph, the amendment from the leader of the Brexit Delivery Group of Conservative MPs is expected to state that any extension should not go beyond 23 May.
Sarah Wollaston, who quit the the Tory benches to join the new breakaway Independent Group of MPs, last night warned Mrs May that the new timetable for a meaningful vote could prompt more defections.
"I think there are very many MPs who are interested in joining us," she told the BBC's Westminster Hour.
"I think a lot of people are watching to see what happens this week... very many of my colleagues who like me have been deeply concerned about running down the clock to no deal – and again we’ve seen that today – so I think some of my colleagues will also be considering their positions following that announcement."
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