Comments by UK PM spokesman, James Slack
- Today's vote sends an important message to the EU
- Government requires legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement
- May is expected to speak with other European leaders today
If the Brexit state of play is taking shape as such, the government surely cannot afford any amendments or changes to that will allow for a no-deal Brexit to be ruled out for the time being. That will significantly reduce their negotiating position if they are banking on getting something from the EU in March.
That said, it's one step at a time. The immediate worry now is that they may not even win votes today to see an extended period of negotiation to next month. As it stands, the ERG is not going to back the government later which means that there is real danger that May will be facing the prospect of a defeat later today.
However, even if she loses the vote today, it's not going to impact things materially as she will still be able to buy some time. But what it means is that she will lose the confidence of European leaders as failure to even win such a trivial vote like this sends the message that she has even less support than imagined; what more when it comes to a meaningful vote.
