Chances of Getting Chequers Brexit Deal Through Parliament Are Low - Professor

Sputnik spoke with Alistair Jones, Associate Professor and University Teacher Fellow Department of Politics, De Montfort University Leicester for more insight on the issue.

Sputnik: What chance does Theresa May have of getting a deal through parliament should there be one?

Alistair Jones: The chance of Theresa May getting everything through parliament is probably very low at the moment. Although with the meeting of the backbench 1922 committee of the Conservative Party taking place later on today; there is going to be a huge debate about here package, and the problem we’ve got is, that what she is telling them is that it’s this package or no deal whatsoever.

If she can survive tonight and get it through the committee; there is a very vague chance that she may get it through parliament, but the Labour Party have already said that they are not going to support it and so have other parties.

She’s going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place in this respect, unless she makes it a vote of confidence which links it to a general election and that may make some people blink.

Sputnik: How long will Theresa May be Tory leader?

Alistair Jones: I suspect she will remain as leader; although she could be pulled down tonight. The problem for those who don’t want her in place is that there isn’t an alternative.

If you look at the possible candidates; Boris Johnson is very popular with the grass roots, but it’s unlikely that he would actually be selected by the Tory MPs.

Tory MPs choose the candidates via a series of eliminating elections and the strong money is on Boris failing to make the top two. If he was to do so, he would probably win, but that would then lead to greater divisions within the Conservative Party, than those that currently exist.

With that in Theresa May’s favour; the plotters, and there are plenty of them, will probably not sign the letters and send them all to the chief whip to undermine her because there isn’t a viable alternative that could unite the party and get a Brexit deal through parliament.

Sputnik: Would the Labour Party have handled Brexit negotiations better than the Conservatives?

Alistair Jones: I suspect that the Labour Party would have handled it almost as badly as the Conservatives. The problem we’ve got is what the individual parties want and what they perceive that their grass roots want.

The Labour Party position has been very vague. Yes they want a customs union, they’ve been clear on that, but what that entails and what that would cover has not always been as clear as it could be and the messages from Brussels have been that it was; if anything, it was slightly more doable than Theresa May’s Chequers plan, but that was to damn with faint praise.

Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Alistair Jones and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.