Senior Tories have accepted that the sheer amount of legislation parliament must pass to prepare for Brexit regardless of whether Ms May’s plans are approved, makes a withdrawal on the agreed date almost impossible.
One cabinet minister told The Independent that in the unlikely event the prime minister’s deal is actually approved on Tuesday, then a couple more weeks would still be needed – if as expected it is not, then a longer delay of Brexit looks inevitable if a no-deal scenario is to be avoided.
Despite the admission from within the cabinet, Downing Street attempted to play down the chances of any extension to the Article 50 negotiating period on Friday by saying that it is not “government policy”.
Ms May looks set for a historic defeat when she puts her deal to the House of Commons on Tuesday, with some estimates suggesting she will lose by more than 200 votes.
The delay in determining the country’s path would also push back the ability of parliament to pass around six essential pieces of legislation, making a 29 March exit unlikely despite Number 10’s claims.
But the inevitability of a delay to Brexit was highlighted by one cabinet minister who told The Independent that a short extension of Article 50 would probably be required to implement a deal that is approved.
The frontbencher said: “It will be difficult to pass the legislation by the end of March, even if the deal goes through.
“But no one is going to object if we need a couple more weeks.”
They argued that both the EU and Brexiteers were unlikely to object to a short delay as long as the UK’s withdrawal was absolutely guaranteed. [...]
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