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UK Parliament to Vote on Brexit Withdrawal Agreement on Friday

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Parliament will vote on Friday on UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement, but not the accompanying political declaration, John Bercow, UK House of Commons speaker, said on Thursday.
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"In short, the motion is new, and substantially different […] The previous meaningful vote encompassed both the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration, this motion covers the former but not the latter", the speaker said.

However, Bercow warned that if the withdrawal agreement wasn't passed, the UK government wouldn't be able to resubmit it.

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After May's Brexit deal, which includes a withdrawal agreement that outlines the main points for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, and a political declaration which addresses UK-EU relations post-Brexit, package was voted down for the second time, Bercow ruled that May could not bring the same deal to be voted on unless it had been substantially changed.

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May proposed to vote on the two parts separately and Bercow said that this was a significant enough change to the motion so it could be brought to parliament to be voted on.

If the parliament does not pass the withdrawal agreement, which it has rejected twice before, on Friday, the government will have to either come up with a new Brexit deal to present to the parliament and the European Union by 12 April or leave the bloc without a deal, a scenario which many UK politicians say will lead to significant economic repercussions for both sides.

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The United Kingdom has been granted an extension to its original 29 March deadline on leaving the European Union.

The European Council has given the United Kingdom until 22 May if the House of Commons can pass UK Prime Minister Theresa May's twice-rejected withdrawal deal by Friday and until 12 April if it cannot. Despite the extension, the UK government continues to be in crisis over the unsettled Brexit deal.

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