Is a no-deal Brexit about to be taken off the table? This is the expectation in Westminster after Yvette Cooper tabled an amendment to prevent the UK leaving the EU without a deal. The amendment paves the way for legislation that would mean ministers had to extend Article 50 if a no-deal Brexit looked likely. The Labour leadership are considering backing it – though there is some debate about whether Article 50 ought to be extended in three month batches rather than than the nine month period currently specified in Cooper’s bill.
Brexiteers are so worried the amendment will pass that some – including Jacob Rees-Mogg – have gone so far as to claim that Theresa May ought to suspend Parliament in order to stop it. However, there is reason to question whether the amendment is a slam dunk.
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