Tuesday Vote on Brexit 'Plan B' in UK Parl't May Reshape Withdrawal Process

UK Prime Minister Theresa May reported on her government's plans for Brexit last week, following the defeat of the withdrawal bill in the House of Commons. May said her intention was to ask Brussels for more concessions on the Irish border backstop in a bid to secure backing of fellow Conservative lawmakers and their allies, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who have been critical of the backstop.

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Lawmakers from different parties have submitted amendments that could be put to the vote on Tuesday and, if passed, would influence how the government proceeds with its Brexit plans.

Vote on Options

Currently, the leadership of Labour party wants the government to rule out a no-deal scenario and give the parliament a chance to vote on various Brexit options, including a softer Brexit, where the United Kingdom remains part of a customs union with Brussels, as well as a possibility of a people's vote.

The Liberal Democrats' amendment would, similarly, force the government to rule out a no-deal exit, but it would also instruct the Cabinet to set up another Brexit referendum.

One of the proposed amendments was presented by Conservative lawmaker Dominic Grieve who sought to give the parliament rather than the government control over the Commons' agenda on several days. This would allow lawmakers choose which Brexit alternatives they want to discuss. Any motions passed this way would not be binding.

Extend Brexit Deadline 

Labour Party also actively suggested an amendment as the lawmaker Yvette Cooper was willing to wrangle the control over the parliament from the government for one day in order to attempt to pass a bill that would set February 26 as a deadline for May to have her deal approved by the Commons. If she failed to do so, the parliament would then vote on asking the European Union to extend Brexit deadline from March 29 to December 31.

One more Labour’s representative, Stella Creasy, has suggested extending Brexit deadline in order to create a citizen's assembly, which might then help debate solutions to the Brexit impasse.

In addition, Labour lawmaker, Rachel Reeves, has submitted an amendment that pushes the government to extend the Brexit deadline, but does not indicate for how long.

At the same time, Labour lawmaker Hilary Benn has put down a proposal for lawmakers to hold a number of "indicative votes" to find out which option the House of Commons was the likeliest to support, while Conservative Andrew Murrison is urging for the backstop to either end by December 2021 or be scrapped from the withdrawal agreement.

Speaker John Bercow will announce on Tuesday which of the 14 proposed amendments will be put to the vote and in what order. The voting itself is likely to happen in the evening.