Who’d be the Prime Minister right now? Less that 24 hours after boldly claiming she had secured legally-binding reassurances on the Brexit deal she’d struck with the EU, Theresa May’s own Attorney General told lawmakers the changes were less law law, more jaw jaw, to paraphrase another British PM beyond recognition.
As things stand, it’s looking very unlikely that May can overturn her historic January Commons defeat tonight.
And in the event of a loss, something very interesting could happen.
Last month, May promised lawmakers that, should the government’s bill be defeated today, tomorrow they would be given the chance to vote on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal.
Happening Now: Prime Minister Theresa May Addresses Parliament
In response Matt Warman, MP for one of the UK’s most pro-Brexit seats, wrote on Twitter that he would support May in Meaningful Vote two, but that if the deal failed, he would support a “no deal” a day later.
This idea that stopping Brexit is a betrayal of democracy could yet capture the imagination of a few more MPs.
May Strikes New Brexit Deal With the EU, Asks Parliament to Back It
It’s still unlikely to pass, but if more than the 24 hardline Brexiteers vote for a “no deal” Brexit on Tuesday, it will send a message to the government — and, more importantly, to Brussels — on the direction of travel in London.
