Theresa May ordered to renegotiate Brexit deal

So now we know: Theresa May will go back to Brussels and plea for meaningful changes to the Northern Ireland backstop. If she can get concessions from the EU, then it looks like we have a deal. 

But the EU has been utterly consistent in its position that the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation. That means the backstop cannot be tweaked. So it’s starting to look a lot like a showdown: May’s deal versus no deal. 

But didn’t lawmakers just vote to rule out a no deal? They did. But it’s not legally binding, and even if it were, it simply is not in the gift of Parliament to rip up an international treaty. 

So May’s deal, no deal, or something else? Goodness me. All eyes on Brussels; all eyes on opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn. 

A badge reading "Brexit: Is it worth it?" is picture on the hoat of an anti-brexit activist as they protest outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on December 17, 2018, ahead of a statement by Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Commons later today. - Prime Minister Theresa May will on Monday warn MPs against supporting a second Brexit referendum, as calls mount for a public vote to break the political impasse over the deal she struck with the EU. "Let us not break faith with the British people by trying to stage another referendum," she will tell parliament, according to extracts from her speech released by Downing Street. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo credit should read TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images)

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The British Chambers of Commerce and the British Property Federation have both bemoaned Tuesday’s Parliamentary vote, stressing that the UK leaving the EU without a deal is the worst possible outcome for British businesses.

A number of industry leaders have warned of economic chaos and food shortages in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“Another day lost while the clock is ticking,” Adam Marshall, the BCC Director General, said. “The real-world result of Westminster’s interminable wrangling is market uncertainty, stockpiling, and the diversion of staff, money and investment.”

CEO of the British Property Federation, Melanie Leech, issued a plea for the government to come together.

“The property sector stands united with other business sectors in stressing that a No Deal is the worst outcome – but we need a clear alternative to provide the clarity on which investment decisions today, for the long-term health of the UK, can be based,” Leech said, adding that the current Withdrawal Agreement was the only credible option.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said there can be no substitute for the backstop.

The Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation, the Irish government said in a statement Tuesday shortly after the British Parliament voted to “require” that alternative arrangements to the Northern Ireland backstop be put in place.

“The agreement is a carefully negotiated compromise, which balances the UK position on customs and the single market with avoiding a hard border and protecting the integrity of the EU customs union and single market,” Ireland said.

Full statement:

May and Tusk in slightly happier times, during an EU summit in Brussels in October 2017.

A spokesman for Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, told CNN that the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation, despite Parliament’s vote Tuesday night to do just that.

“The Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation,” the spokesman said, minutes after Parliament voted to say it “requires the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements” in order to agree to Theresa May’s deal.

Speaking after lawmakers backed a move to reopen negotiations with the EU over the Northern Ireland backstop, Prime Minister Theresa May said that it was now “clear that there is a route that can secure a substantial and sustainable majority in this House for leaving the EU with a deal.”

May said she would now seek to deal with concerns – primarily from the rightwing of her own Conservative party – over the backstop, an insurance policy in the withdrawal deal to avoid a hard border between Ireland (which is in the EU) and Northern Ireland after Brexit.

“There is limited appetite for such a change in the EU and negotiating it will not be easy,” May said, triggering a round of jeers from the House of Commons. “But in contrast to a fortnight ago, this House has made clear what it needs to approve a Withdrawal Agreement.”

Reiterating her stance on no-deal, May added that simply opposing an exit from the EU without a deal is not enough to stop it, but underlined that the government would redouble its efforts to achieve a deal Parliament could support.

After weeks of refusing to hold talks with the Prime Minister, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said that his Labour party was now prepared to meet May to outline the kind of agreement that it wants with the European Union.

Scottish National Party MP Ian Blackford, who earlier proposed a “stop the clock” amendment on Brexit that was soundly defeated, shouted repeatedly that the Brady vote “effectively ripped apart the Good Friday Agreement.”

The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998, helped end years of deadly sectarian violence and paved the way for the removal of border posts on the frontier between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Nigel Dodds, the Deputy Leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, retorted that the vote to renegotiate the deal and the backstop did not “drive a coach and horses” through the historic peace agreement, adding that it is “utterly reckless to talk in those terms.”

Graham Brady, who proposed the amendment to reopen negotiations on the backstop.

Lawmakers have ordered Theresa May to reopen negotiations with the EU over the Northern Ireland backstop, an insurance policy in the withdrawal deal designed to avoid a hard border with Ireland after Brexit. 

In the key vote of the night, MPs voted 317-301 in favor of an amendment proposed by Conservative MP Graham Brady – the influential chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee – that “requires the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border; supports leaving the European Union with a deal and would therefore support the Withdrawal Agreement subject to this change.”

Hardliners in May’s Conservative Party despise the open-ended nature of the backstop — as it stands now, the UK could theoretically be tied to a customs union with the EU long after the transitional period ends in 2020. 

European officials have repeatedly said they will not reopen the withdrawal deal, which was was agreed between May and Brussels last year before Parliament roundly rejected her deal earlier this month. 

Not much in this debate has garnered consensus, but when it comes to a no-deal Brexit, lawmakers have largely agreed that they don’t want the UK crash out of the EU without a parachute.

An advisory amendment pushing to remove the option of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, tabled by Conservative MP Caroline Spelman and Labour MP Jack Dromey, was approved by lawmakers on Tuesday 318 to 310.

The passage of the amendment is a symbolic defeat for the government and for no-deal Brexit.

There have been whispers in Westminster for some time that the more hardline Brexiteers are agitating for a no-deal outcome. 

They hate Theresa May’s deal, but are lending her their support tonight. Why? 

A theory: with Cooper’s amendment failing, meaning that Parliament has recorded no majority for extending Article 50, no deal is back on the table in a big way.

As things stand, the conversation has shifted in an instant back to May’s deal versus no deal. Only a fool would try to predict which of these would be more likely to happen, but remember this: no deal is still the default and it could still happen. 

An amendment that sought a two-year extension of Article 50, led by Labour MP Rachel Reeves, was rejected 322 to 290, with a majority of 32.

The amendment called for an extension if no agreement had been reached by February 26, 2019.

While it was similar in scope to the Cooper amendment in that it also sought to secure an extension to avoid a no-deal scenario, this amendment would have been by political force rather than requirement.

Without Parliamentary appetite for an Article 50 extension, no-deal being the default puts Theresa May’s deal or no-deal ultimatum front and center, CNN’s Luke McGee says.

Parliament has narrowly voted down an amendment proposed by opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper that would have forced Theresa May to seek a delay to Brexit if she is unable to get an amended deal passed by lawmakers by February 26. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29.

The amendment was rejected by 321 votes to 298, a majority of 23. Ahead of the vote, it was seen as one of the amendments with the best chance of passing.

An amendment put forward by Tory MP Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, that would attempt to give Parliament more control over the Brexit process through a series of indicative votes, was voted down by 321 votes to 301 – a majority of 20.

The amendment would have given the House of Commons six days in February and March to debate Brexit with the ability to propose and vote on alternative plans. Grieve believes that this would allow MPs to vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit, should they want to.

The amendment had drawn criticism for kicking the can down the road, while leaving key questions unanswered.

Grieve, who has backed a second EU referendum, said in his remarks earlier in the day that it was clear that the EU would not renegotiate Brexit.

The Scottish National Party amendment to “stop the clock” on Brexit has been DEFEATED by 327 votes to 39 – a majority of 288.

The amendment proposed by Scottish National Party MP Ian Blackford called for an extension to Article 50 and the ruling out of no-deal Brexit. The amendment reflected that the Scottish and Welsh assemblies had voted overwhelmingly to reject the Prime Minister’s deal. It also emphasized that Scotland – having voted to Remain – should not be taken out of the EU against its will.

While addressing Parliament earlier in the day, Blackford’s speech in support of his amendment ramped up to a full-throated call for Scottish independence.

Parliament has voted against the official Labour amendment tabled by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, which had sought to rule out the possibility of a no-deal Brexit and allow Parliament to vote on other options for Brexit, including the Labour-supported plan for a permanent customs union with the EU, or hold another referendum on Brexit.

The amendment was defeated by 327 votes to 296 – a majority of 31.

In the days since May’s initial Brexit deal was crushed in Parliament, Corbyn has repeatedly refused to take part in talks with May until she rules out the no-deal option. May has countered that the only way to rule out a no-deal Brexit is to approve her deal with the EU. And it’s unclear whether it’s even in the Prime Minister’s remit to rule out a no-deal.

While revoking the notification of Article 50 – the process by which UK leaves the EU – is possible, it would likely need to be approved by Parliament, Jeremy Brier, a barrister and former adjunct professor in European law, told CNN.

Brier added: “Saying you’ve got to take no-deal off the table is meaningless nonsense. The clock is ticking,” Brier said. “Legislation exists which says the UK will leave on March 29, 2019. If a deal – like May’s with the EU – is agreed, then obviously you leave with that deal. If you don’t, then you leave without a deal.”

Wrapping up the debate Tuesday evening, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told the House of Commons that backing the Prime Minister’s deal was the only way to avoid prolonging the insecurity that delaying Brexit would bring.

Barclay warned against the “dangers” of voting for one amendment that he said would act as an “empty vessel, a Trojan Horse” against the intent of the British people to leave the EU, and accused opposition Labour MPs of wanting to stop Brexit.

Some on Twitter rightly pointed out that a Trojan House is not, in fact, empty. 

Barclay said there were only two ways to avoid a no-deal Brexit: to pass May’s deal, or to cancel Brexit entirely.

Asked repeatedly what the alternative arrangements to the backstop would be, he did not clarify.

Two weeks after the historic defeat of Theresa May’s Brexit deal, Parliament is set to vote on seven different amendments to her Plan B.

There are two key amendments to watch as voting gets underway at 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local): the Cooper amendment and the Brady amendment.

The Cooper amendment (named for opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper) will try to rule out no-deal Brexit. It aims to put Parliament, rather than the Prime Minister and government, in control of legislating the terms of the deal. If successful, it could rule out no-deal Brexit and delay Brexit.

The Brady amendment (named for Graham Brady, the influential chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee) demands that the controversial Irish backstop be replaced with “alternative arrangements” and vows that Parliament will support the Withdrawal Agreement if this change is made. Theresa May backs this amendment – in effect, she is telling Parliament to order her to go back to Brussels and get the backstop replaced with … something else. If successful, this could delay Brexit by making May try to reopen negotiations.

If either amendment passes, we should have a relatively clear signal of what Parliament wants, which should guide May’s next steps.

If not, the UK has no clear roadmap past tonight.

Blood donation sessions in two southern English towns have been canceled over an eight-week period over fears of Brexit-related traffic jams, Britain’s National Health Service has confirmed.

Sessions between mid-March and May have been canceled in case of significant disruptions between the English port and Calais in France, the official NHS Give Blood account tweeted.

“This will only effect six blood donation sessions. Over the same period, we will hold around 2,700 other sessions elsewhere in the country. We will also hold replacement sessions at alternative sessions to compensate,” Mike Stredder, director of blood donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said in a statement to CNN.

“There will be no effect on blood stocks or on our ability to supply hospitals.”

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats addressing the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has warned that a no-deal Brexit, in which Britain exits the EU on March 29 without an agreement on a future relationship, would severely disrupt and diminish the UK and Europe.

“The possibility of a no-deal Brexit in which the UK exits the EU without an agreement remains. This would cause economic disruptions that would substantially weaken the UK and Europe,” Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. 

“We anticipate that the evolving landscape in Europe will lead to additional challenges to US interests as Russia and China intensify their efforts to build influence there at the expense of the United States.”

Coats and other US intelligence chiefs testified Tuesday at the committee’s annual worldwide threats hearing, where one of the major themes was the threat posed by Russia and other countries to US elections through direct attacks as well as social media influence operations.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper's amendment calls for Article 50 to be extended, pushing back the date of Britain's exit from the EU

Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who tabled one of the Article 50 extension amendments to be voted upon later Tuesday, has described May’s negotiations with the European Union as “the chasing of unicorns.”

She told the Commons on Tuesday afternoon: “I am really worried that the delay and the drift and the chasing of unicorns mean we could now end up with a no deal by accident, even though that would hit jobs, would hit our NHS, our border security, and would put up food prices for the poorest families in the country.”

She also appeared to reject a suggestion from a Tory MP that her bill could allow for Article 50 to be revoked.

“That is certainly not my intention with the bill.”

Scores of both Remain and Leave protesters have been demonstrating on the road outside Parliament all Tuesday, blocking traffic in the area and causing delays to those trying to get around Westminster.

Pro-Brexit protesters hold up placards and wave Union flags as they demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on Tuesday.

An anti-Brexit demonstrator braves the cold in London to call for an end to Brexit proceedings outside the Palaces of Westminster on Tuesday.

A Pro-Brexit demonstrator chants near an officer on duty hours before lawmakers vote on seven amendments to the UK Prime Minister's Brexit deal.

Remainers carry placards reading "Brexit: Not going well is it!" in London on Tuesday.

Seven different amendments are tabled for tonight’s Westminster action with several looking for extensions to Article 50 and various ways to avoid crashing out of the European Union without an agreement. So which are business leaders hoping will prevail?

James Stewart, head of Brexit at KPMG, told CNN: “Many of the businesses we’re speaking to are praying for an extension.”

Business lobby groups had been clamoring for clarity on the terms of the divorce and Britain’s future trading relationship with the European Union.

But their focus has shifted in recent weeks to preventing a disorderly separation at all costs. The European Union would have to agree to any UK request for a delay.

Read more from CNN Business.

British businesses are starting to panic over the possibility of a messy Brexit.

Related article Business is 'praying' for Brexit to be delayed