MPs are to debate and vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal. But what will happen?
- What is the current plan?
The Government has allotted time on five days for the deal to be debated. This includes up to eight hours of debate on December 4, 5, 6 and 10 - with the votes expected on December 11. Amendments have been tabled by two Labour MPs to extend the time for debate.
- What are they debating?
The Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by the Government, which outlines the terms on which the UK will leave the EU and the desired future relationship. MPs are being asked to approve this by supporting a motion tabled by the Prime Minister.
- Can MPs change what has been put forward?
Yes. Speaker John Bercow can select up to six amendments which MPs can then vote on.
- What are the amendments?
Various amendments have been tabled. Labour's official proposal would decline to approve Mrs May's Brexit deal and explains this is because it fails to provide for a permanent UK-EU customs union and "strong" single market deal. It also voices concerns over Northern Ireland.
Labour's amendment also outlines that MPs will "pursue every option" that prevents the UK leaving the EU on the terms of Mrs May's deal or leaving without a deal.
Tory and Labour backbenchers have also tabled an amendment which seeks to reject Mrs May's deal while also avoiding a no-deal Brexit.
- What will happen with the votes?
It's hard to say. Some 20 Conservative MPs have said publicly they will vote against Mrs May's deal, 45 have said they will not vote in favour and more than 20 have said they are unhappy with it.
With Mrs May's minority government allies the DUP also expressing their own concerns, the chance of the deal being approved with a simple majority of 320 of the 639 MPs eligible to vote is highly unlikely.
Any amendment would need to appeal to a wide enough group of MPs to receive the required votes to be successful. Abstentions are likely on all votes.
- How does the debate work?
Ministers are expected to open and close each day, with the Opposition frontbench also having their say. MPs will be chosen by the Speaker to make speeches although their seniority - including positions previously held in government - usually influences the running order. A time limit is likely on backbench speeches, with MPs fearing it could be as low as four minutes.
It is the decision of the MP speaking on whether they accept interventions from others during their speech.
- What does a vote involve?
MPs walk through division lobbies - in essence, rooms either side of the Commons chamber known as the ayes and noes. They have eight minutes to reach the division lobbies when a vote is called.
They register their vote on a tablet device and the result is usually announced within 15 minutes of the vote being called.
If there is more than one vote, MPs tend to wait in the chamber and the process is repeated.
- What about the House of Lords?
They will spend three days debating the deal on December 5, 6 and 10.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel