As parliament lines up to vote on a bill that will, if successful, drag the United Kingdom out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, among other major Brexit-related organizational withdrawals, Brexit Secretary David Davis has written to a gang of rebel Tories planning to derail its passage, attempting to smooth their ruffled feathers.
The rebels have rallied around former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, the most prominent naysayer in the party's ranks, who has sought to insert an amendment into the bill that will ensure the UK will adopt no final Brexit agreement without parliament's agreement.
However, during Prime Minister's Question Time, Theresa May revealed Brexit Secretary David Davis had promised parliamentary oversight of the process, saying "we will put the agreement between the EU and the UK to a vote in both Houses of Parliament before it comes into force."
PM: "(Dominic Grieve's) amendment says we shouldn't put any Statutory Instruments into place until the EU Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill has reached the statute book. That could be at a very late stage, which could mean we are unable to have orderly #Brexit." #PMQs
— Graham Clark (@HargMac) December 13, 2017
The Labour Party along with the Conservative rebels want to pass a law granting parliament the right to vote on its approval of the final agreement between London and Brussels when it is reached.
The Prime Minister also reportedly penned a letter to fellow party-members December 11 to assure them the US$52 billion (£39 billion) would be off the table in the absence of a final trade agreement between the two, reiterating that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."
May: (regarding the EU (Withdrawal) bill amendment put forward by Dominic Grieve MP) the meaningful vote has been confirmed by the #Brexit Secretary, we will not commence any statutory instruments until it has taken place…the amendment could obstruct an orderly withdrawal #PMQs
— Open Europe (@OpenEurope) December 13, 2017
Leading members of the European Parliament were spooked by the British Government's perceived backtracking, after agreement was reached over the Irish border and the UK-EU divorce bill December 8. Davis said the concord reached was a mere "gentlemen's agreement" — which could be subject to further negotiation.
The same day, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve a motion recognizing sufficient progress had been made in the negotiations to proceed to the stage of trade-talks.
Promises by @Number10gov just now and @DavidDavisMP in lengthy statement that there will be meaningful vote on Brexit terms have not won over Grieve and Tory rebels. What more pressure will government apply?
— Robert Peston (@Peston) December 13, 2017
A defeat of the bill would inflict a damaging blow to May's leadership — she has found herself caught between competing factions of the Conservative Party, pushing for a "Soft" or "Hard" Brexit, in addition to managing the demands of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on whom she depends for her Parliamentary majority on maintaining Northern Ireland's current position as part of the United Kingdom.
