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BRITAIN-EU-BREXIT-POLITICS
UK PM’s office says MP Brexit moves ‘extremely concerning’
LONDON, Jan 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May’s
Downing Street office said Sunday that reported plots for parliament to seize
control from the government over Brexit were “extremely concerning”.
Downing Street blasted reported moves by lawmakers seeking to rewrite the
rules of the House of Commons in an attempt to take control of the business
of the lower chamber in order to frustrate May’s Brexit plans.
Groups of MPs are planning to table such amendments this week, newspapers
reported Sunday.
“The British public voted to leave the European Union and it is vital that
elected politicians deliver upon that verdict,” a Downing Street spokeswoman
said.
“Any attempt to remove the government’s power to meet the legal conditions
of an orderly exit at this moment of historic significance is extremely
concerning.
“This news should serve as a reminder to those MPs who want to deliver
Brexit that they need to vote for it — otherwise there is a danger that
parliament could stop Brexit.”
May is due to spell out to lawmakers on Monday what her plans are now for
Brexit following MPs’ overwhelming rejection of the divorce deal agreed
between London and Brussels.
Lawmakers are set to table a series of various Brexit amendments this week
to test their support in the Commons.
May was due to hold a conference call with senior ministers to update them
on her talks with other political parties in the wake of last week’s
landslide vote.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox warned of a “political tsunami” if
MPs fail to deliver on the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU.
He also slammed people calling for May to rule out a no-deal Brexit — a
key demand of the Labour main opposition — saying the “most stupid thing
possible” in a negotiation is to “give away your strongest card”.
“Failure to deliver Brexit would produce a yawning gap between parliament
and the people, a schism in our political system with unknowable
consequences,” Fox, a senior pro-Brexit cabinet minister, wrote in The Sunday
Telegraph newspaper.
“It is time for MPs to deliver on the promises they made. It is a matter
of honour and a matter of duty.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/0831 hrs