UK Speaker rules out third vote on PM May's Brexit deal

March 19, 2019 09:33

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May's crisis over the Brexit in the United Kingdom Parliament has worsened as House of Commons Speaker John Bercow disallowed any attempt to hold a third vote on her withdrawal agreement with the European Union which has already been voted down by MPs twice.

Bercow ruled that he would not allow another vote on the government motion if it remained "substantially the same" after it was defeated by a huge 230-vote margin in January and a smaller 149-vote margin last week.

He said parliamentary conventions dating back to 1604 meant MPs could not be asked to vote on precisely the same subject twice, indicating that he had allowed the second vote as the government had claimed some changes to the controversial Irish backstop clause offered an improved deal for Britain's exit from the European Union.

"It is a necessary rule to ensure the sensible use of the House's time and the proper respect for the decisions which it takes," he said.

"If the government was to bring forward a new proposition that is neither the same, nor substantially the same as disposed of by March 10, this would be entirely in order," he said, adding that the new motion could not be "the same proposition or substantially the same proposition".

The speaker, who is in-charge of selecting the motions and amendments that the Commons votes on, said the second meaningful vote motion on May's Brexit deal held last week did not fall foul of parliamentary convention because it could be "credibly argued it was a different proposition" to that rejected on January 15 because of changes the government considered to be legally binding.

Bercow's latest ruling comes as a fresh blow to May, who had been hoping she may get third-time lucky if she could win over enough rebellious MPs by warning that Brexit itself was in jeopardy unless she can go back to the EU with a substantial deal in place.

She is set to head to Brussels later this week for a European Council summit where EU leaders will contemplate agreeing to an extension of the March 29 Brexit Day deadline. -- PTI

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