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In office, but not in power? Another Brexit setback for PM Theresa May

Hindustan Times, London | By
Mar 26, 2019 07:58 PM IST

PM Theresa May on Monday night suffered another setback in the House of Commons when MPs upheld a motion 329 to 302 seeking to determine the way ahead on Brexit, as three more of her ministers resigned in protest.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday night suffered another setback in the House of Commons when MPs upheld a motion 329 to 302 seeking to determine the way ahead on Brexit, as three more of her ministers resigned in protest.

The development will see MPs voting on Wednesday on a range of Brexit alternatives to identify the scenario that has the most support. This whittles down further May’s control over the Brexit process, which has come under increasing fire from inside and outside her party.

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Business minister Richard Harrington, foreign office minister Alistair Burt and health Steve Brine resigned to join Brexit rebels, with Harrington accusing the government of “playing roulette with the lives and livelihoods” of Britons.

However, the ‘indicative votes’ on Wednesday are unlikely to resolve the impasse, as May insisted that their outcome is not binding and would not commit her government to adopting outcomes that has the most support.

The setback prompted renewed claims by some of May’s aides and others that she may be in office in Downing Street, but not in power.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government “must take the process seriously…The government has failed and this House must, and I believe will, succeed.” He also called for a ‘confirmatory referendum’ on May’s withdrawal agreement that has failed to pass twice.

May’s party MPs and others piled on the pressure after the setback in the house. Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer tweeted: “Another humiliating defeat for a prime minister who has lost complete control of her party, her cabinet and of the Brexit process”.

Labour’s Hilary Benn, who chairs the Exiting the European Union Committee, told BBC: “If the government isn’t going to do its job then Parliament is going to have to take responsibility, and that is what we are doing on Wednesday.”

Indian-origin Conservative former Brexit Minister Suella Braverman called it a “a Parliamentary massacre”, adding: “MPs where we know there is a majority against Brexit, who don’t want to respect the referendum, who don’t want to honour referendum pledges, are seeking to overturn that and it’s unacceptable.”

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