Katy Balls Katy Balls

How heavily will Theresa May’s Brexit deal be defeated?

Theresa May’s Brexit deal will finally be voted on this week. However, the signs so far are not good. Despite the government decision to delay the vote until after Christmas in the hope MPs would calm down, few in the Commons believe it has any hope of passing when it’s put to a vote on Tuesday night. Instead, the focus has moved to what will happen once it is defeated.

The Sunday papers are filled with talk of such Brexit plots. Dominic Grieve stands accused of working with the Speaker to change the Commons rules so that backbenchers decide the Commons business and thereby can map out Brexit (see Nikki Da Costa’s explanation here) while there’s talk of bringing in procedures to punish ministers if they try and pursue no deal. On a visit to Stoke-on-Trent on Monday, May will say that she now believes that MPs blocking Brexit is a more likely outcome than leaving with no deal.

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