Theresa May is set to begin discussions with senior ministers on her proposed new “bold offer” to MPs in a final attempt to get her Brexit deal through Parliament.
The weekly meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday is expected to sign off on a package of measures to be included in the forthcoming Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) aimed at winning cross-party support.
READ MORE: Why the SNP has demanded an independent regulatory probe over BBC Question Time 'bias'
However there was widespread scepticism at Westminster that it will fare any better than her three previous failed attempts to get the Commons to pass the deal.
Following the collapse last week of cross-party talks with Labour aimed at reaching a common approach, Jeremy Corbyn said he had not yet seen anything new that would persuade him to support it.
It comes at the start of what looks likely to be another torrid week for the Prime Minister with the Conservatives braced for a hammering at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in the European elections on Thursday.
One weekend poll put them in a humiliating fifth place behind the Greens, with the results likely to exacerbate frustration in the party at the failure to leave the EU in March as planned.
Labour – which has been criticised for facing both ways on a second referendum – is also expecting a difficult result with the same poll showing them in third place behind the Liberal Democrats.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon accused of 'weaponising Brexit' over desire for indyref2 even if UK stayed in EU
A Government source said the WAB – which is needed to ratify the deal with Brussels – would include new measures on protecting workers’ rights, an issue where agreement with Labour was said to have been close.
However, the source made clear the package would not just be aimed at Labour MPs but would seek to secure the widest possible support across the Commons.
It is expected to include provisions on future trade arrangements with the EU, on environmental protections, and on Northern Ireland, including the use of technology to avoid the need for border controls with the Republic.
Ministers will also consider whether to put any of the alternative approaches to indicative votes in the Commons to establish which, if any, can command a majority.
It will not, however, seek to re-open the Withdrawal Agreement – which included the controversial Northern Ireland “backstop” – after the EU repeatedly made clear it could not be re-negotiated.
Mrs May has said she will bring the WAB before MPs for its second reading vote in the first week of June following the short Whitsun recess.
Regardless of how the vote goes, she will then meet the chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, to agree a timetable to elect her successor as party leader, paving the way for her departure from No 10.
The Prime Minister expected to set out details of her WAB proposals in a major speech before the end of the month.
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