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SUBJECT [Mar 29] Brexit recap
DATE 2019-03-29
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PHOTO: Politico.eu

 

Brexit – what happened?

 

If all went according to plan, Brexit would have happened today, March 29, 2019. Yet, UK has not been able to come to an agreement on Brexit until now. Today’s article will recapitulate the main events in an attempt to explain the reason behind the Brexit disarray.

 

January 23, 2013: Then British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged an in/out referendum if the Conservatives win the election.

 

June 23, 2016: Brexit started with a referendum vote where voters were asked whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. The Leave side won by 17.4 million votes (52%) to 16.1 million, and David Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay, resigned the following morning.

 

July 13, 2016: Theresa May becomes UK’s new Prime Minister.

 

October 2, 2016: PM May announced that UK will leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

 

March 29, 2017: PM May triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), known as the process for leaving the EU. The two-year countdown to Brexit started.

 

June 8, 2017: General elections resulted in a hung parliament; Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons and PM May formed a government.

 

December 8, 2017: The first phase of negotiations – on how much money the UK will pay the EU, what will happen to UK and EU citizens in each territory, and how to avoid a physical border between Northern Ireland and Ireland – ended, and both sides agreed to move to phase two with talks on transition and the framework for future EU-UK relations.

 

November 14, 2018: the UK and EU reached an agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement, which meant that British Members of Parliament must approve the agreement for it to be an Act of Parliament.

 

January 15, 2019: Members of Parliament rejected the Brexit deal by 432 to 202, the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.

 

January 28, 2019: MPs vote by 317 to 301 in favor of an amendment to send Prime Minister Theresa May went back to the EU to renegotiate the Brexit deal and replace the controversial Northern Ireland backstop with “alternative arrangements”. The Parliament also voted for an amendment signaling their opposition to a no-deal Brexit.

 

February 14, 2019: PM May fails to win parliamentary backing for her Brexit plan in a non-binding vote, with 258 for and 303 votes against.

 

March 12, 2019: Members of Parliament rejected the Brexit deal for a second time by 391 to 242.

 

March 13, 2019: MPs voted to reject a no-deal Brexit by 321 to 278.

 

March 14, 2019: MPs voted by 413 to 202 – a majority of 211 – for PM May to ask the EU for a delay to Brexit, and voted against a second referendum by 334 voters to 85.

 

March 18, 2019: Speaker of UK House of Commons John Bercow ruled that he would not allow a third “meaningful vote” in the coming days on “substantially the same” motion as MPs twice rejected. Speaker Bercow cited a convention dating back to 1604 that a defeated motion could not be brought back in the same form during the course of a parliamentary session, and said while the second vote was in order as it was substantially different to the first, the third vote does not meet the test.

 

March 20, 2019: PM May sends a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, formally asking for an extension to the negotiating period to June 30. The European Commission responds that 27 EU countries would offer the UK a short extension until May 23, or a longer extension which would require the UK to participate in the European elections (scheduled on May 23).

 

March 21, 2019: EU leaders agree to postpone Brexit in two different scenarios: if the deal is ratified by MPs during the following week, Brexit day will be extended to May 22 to allow the UK time to pass necessary legislation; if MPs reject the Brexit deal, then Article 50 will be extended to April 12. If the latter happens, the Parliament must propose an alternative, leave without deal, or ask for a longer extension while participating in the European election.

 

March 27, 2019: PM May announced that she would be stepping down if her Brexit deal is approved.

 

March 28, 2019: Speaker of Parliament John Bercow selected eight “indicative votes” – series of votes in an attempt to find what option, if any, MPs can agree on, and British MPs failed to back any option. The indicative votes included:

 

1) No deal Brexit (Amendment B): proposed by Conservative Brexiteer John Baron, calling for the UK to leave the EU without a deal on 12 April - 160 for, 400 against.

 

2) “Common Market 2.0” (Amendment D): proposed by Conservative Remainer Nick Boles, calling for the government to negotiate for a Norway plus style deal which could see UK negotiating a customs arrangement, remaining part of the Single Market, and to join the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA) – 188 for, 283 against.

 

3) EEA and ETFA terms; no customs union (Amendment H): proposed by conservative Brexiteer George Eustice. Calls for UK to accede to EEA and ETFA but not to remain in a customs union, and asks the EU to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement to renegotiate the Irish backstop – 65 for, 300 against.

 

4) A customs union (Amendment J): proposed by Conservative Remainer Ken Clarke, calling for the government to negotiate a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU – 264 for, 272 against.

 

5) Labour’s alternative Brexit plan (amendment K): proposed by Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. The alternative plan includes a comprehensive customs union with the EU, close alignment with the Single Market, dynamic alighment on workers’ rights and environmental protections, participation in EU agencies, funding programmes, and cooperation on security matters – 237 for, 307 against.

 

6) Article 50 or ‘no deal’ (Amendment L): proposed by SNP MP Jjoanna Cherry, stating that if a deal is not reached the day before the scheduled departure date, Parliament will again vote on no deal. If the Parliament approves the no deal, UK will leave without a deal; if the Parliament rejects the no deal, the government must revoke Article 50 – 184 for, 293 against.

 

7) Public confirmatory vote (Amendment M): proposed by Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, stating that MPs will vote to confirm Theresa May’s deal but only on the provision that the deal is subject to a public vote to confirm it – 268 for, 295 against.

 

8) Contingent preferential arrangements (Amendment O): proposed by conservative Brexiteer Marcus Fysh, calling for the government to immediately seek a range of arrangements with the EU to manage the immediate post Brexit environment and “unilaterally guarantee” the rights of EU citizens in the UK if the parliament rejects the Withdrawal Agreement – 139 for, 422 against.

 

 

BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)