11 December 2018 - Theresa May Postpones Brexit Vote
Theresa May postpones Brexit deal vote
Dan Sabbagh and Jessica Elgot (The Guardian, 10/12/2018)
Theresa May has postponed the final vote on her Brexit deal after a last-minute conference call with cabinet ministers, a clear admission by the prime minister that she does not believe she can get the unpopular EU withdrawal agreement through the Commons.
The drastic move, as May faced defeat by up to 100 of her own MPs, is a humiliation for the prime minister, whose aides and cabinet ministers had emphatically denied there was any prospect of pulling the vote, even as late as Monday morning.
Advisers, ministers and loyalist MPs had been urging May to delay Tuesday’s vote in order to seek new assurances from Brussels and avoid the chaos of a parliamentary defeat.
Theresa May delays vote on Brexit deal and admits she faced 'significant' defeat
Greg Heffer and Aubrey Allegretti (Sky News, 10/12/2018)
Theresa May has dramatically postponed a House of Commons vote on her Brexit deal, admitting she would have suffered a "significant" defeat.
The prime minister confirmed in a statement to MPs she had delayed the meaningful vote on her EU agreement, which had been scheduled for Tuesday night, as she attempts to keep alive both her deal and her premiership.
Mrs May told parliament she will instead head to an EU summit in Brussels this week to discuss the "clear concerns" of MPs about her deal's so-called backstop arrangement.
Now what for the PM and Brexit?
Laura Kuenssberg (BBC News, 11/12/2018)
Now what? The prime minister didn't delay the vote because she wanted to.
She and her team made the decision because the option of a horrendous defeat was more grim than the humiliation of delay.
Cabinet ministers were arguing that even in these strange political times, some of the traditional political rules do still apply - don't call a vote that you can't win, and don't ask a question that you don't know the answer to.
Opposition leaders join forces to accuse Theresa May of contempt of Parliament
Richard Hartley-Parkinson (Metro, 11/12/2018)
Theresa May is facing her toughest time yet as Prime Minister with a opposition leaders uniting against her.
They have accused her of showing contempt for Parliament and have written to her expressing concern about her sudden cancellation of a crunch Commons vote on the Brexit deal that was due to be held today.
The letter says: ‘We believe that this deferral shows a contempt for Parliament.’