Theresa May may not be able to cancel her Brexit vote as planned thanks to obscure Parliament rules
THERESA May has confirmed today that she wants to delay the vote on her Brexit deal.
But some MPs are standing firm against her, saying they must have the chance to vote it down as planned tomorrow.
The PM told MPs today she would move the vote because it would get rejected "by a significant margin" if she didn't.
But Tory MP James Duddridge said today: "The PM does not get to pull a vote.
"The House will have to vote to pull a vote. I will oppose. We need to see this deal off once and for all."
Speaker John Bercow said this afternoon there were two ways of doing this - the "right" and "obvious" one being a vote to delay it.
He told MPs this afternoon that the other option would be to decline to move the day's business tomorrow.
Speaker Bercow threw a spanner in the works, saying: "Halting the debate after no fewer than 164 colleagues have taken trouble to contribute will be thought by many members to be deeply discourteous."
But Government sources insisted they had no plans for a vote to put off the vote.
Experts in the House of Commons also said a minister could technically "talk out" the debate at 7pm on Tuesday when it comes to a vote.
Michael Gove said he wouldn't do this when he was asked this morning - he's the minister who was set to finish up the debate.
And Labour are reportedly planning alternative measures to try and force the vote to happen.
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Brexiteers are furious with Mrs May for deciding to try and defer the vote.
They want to embarrass and humiliate her in the Commons and use the vote to try and force her out of office.
Now there are fears they could write in letters of no confidence in her, and try and push a leadership contest.
Steve Baker, a former aide to David Davis, said today: "Time for action and a vote of No Confidence."
And Brexiteer Steve Baker added: "This is essentially a defeat of the Prime Minister's Brexit deal."
He said Mrs May has "kicked the can down the road".
"The terms of the WA were so bad that they didn’t dare put it to Parliament for a vote," he said. "This isn’t the mark of a stable government or a strong plan."
As Mrs May fights for her deal - and her career:
- Speaker John Bercow suggested it would be undemocratic to pull the vote without another vote by MPs
- Jeremy Corbyn urged her to quit and make way for a Labour administration as the party mulled holding a vote of no confidence in the whole Government
- Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said she should have to "govern or quit" as he slammed the last two years of negotiations and an "undeliverable deal".
- Mrs May's DUP ally Nigel Dodds said the PM wasn't listening to colleagues and her deal must be changed
- Meanwhile, Euro judges ruled that Britain can cancel Brexit without permission from Europe
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