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Minggu, 31 Maret 2019

Britain faces calls for unity govt amid Brexit impasse - ABC News

The U.K. may be forced to create a national unity government to end the impasse over Britain leaving the European Union, as Prime Minister Theresa May clings to the Brexit divorce agreement that Parliament has rejected three times, a senior Conservative suggested Saturday.

Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan's comments came a day after the House of Commons rebuffed the prime minister's call for lawmakers to "put aside self and party," sending her Brexit deal to its latest defeat. The rejection leaves the U.K. facing the stark prospect of a chaotic departure from the EU in just two weeks — unless squabbling politicians can put aside their differences and engineer a long delay in the process of leaving the bloc.

The British Parliament will vote Monday on a variety of Brexit alternatives in an attempt to find an idea that can command a majority. But May's government is considering a fourth vote on her deal, bolstered by their success in narrowing her margin of defeat to 58 votes Friday from 230 votes in January.

"If the government refused and Theresa May felt she could not implement what Parliament had identified as a way of leaving the EU, then I think we would have to think very hard about whether a cross-party coalition ... could do that in order to make sure that the U.K. does leave the EU in an orderly fashion," Morgan told the BBC.

Britain has in the past had national unity governments in times of national crisis, such as World War II. But critics point out that such coalitions were forged when there was a single goal — such as defeating Nazi Germany. It is unclear now how Britain's political parties would agree to cooperate on an issue like Brexit, which has split the country and its two major political parties, May's ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party.

As a result of Friday's vote, the U.K. is now scheduled to leave the EU on April 12, regardless of whether the two sides have reached an agreement to cushion the impact. That has led to concerns about crippling tariffs, border gridlock and shortages of food and medicines.

EU officials have suggested, however, they may agree to a lengthy delay to Britain's departure from the bloc if U.K. politicians agree on a plan.

The House of Commons on Wednesday began the process of debating alternatives to the prime minister's deal but rejected all eight proposals they considered. Two ideas, a customs union with the EU and a second referendum on any deal, achieved significant support. Lawmakers are expected to hold a second round of votes Monday on Brexit proposals.

Hilary Benn, a Labour Party lawmaker who chairs Parliament's Brexit committee, dismissed criticism that the parliamentary process was a failure because it didn't deliver a majority in the first round of voting. Benn said he hopes the latest defeat for May's deal will "concentrate minds" and help build a clear majority for one of the Brexit options.

"Since it took 2 3/4 years for the government to get what it had negotiated defeated three times, it's a little bit harsh on Parliament, when it started the process last Wednesday, for not having immediately solved the problem in 24 hours," Benn said. "So I think a little bit more time is a perfectly reasonable thing to provide as we try and find a way forward."

While Benn and Morgan are pushing for compromise, others are demanding that the Conservative-led government not cave in.

Some hard-line Conservative Party lawmakers have written to May insisting that she not agree to a Brexit extension beyond May 22, which would force the U.K. to take part in the May 23-26 European Parliament elections, The Sun newspaper reported. The letter, signed by 170 members of the prime minister's party, called on May to bring her deal back to Parliament for a fourth vote, with the threat of a general election if it is rejected again, the newspaper said.

Brandon Lewis, a Cabinet member and chairman of the Conservative Party, said he was aware of the letter, though he had not seen the final text or the signatures.

"We should be doing everything we can to leave the European Union in good order as quickly as we can, as we said in our manifesto and as we've said to Parliament," Lewis said. "I think the deal is the right way to do that."

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Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

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https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/britain-faces-calls-unity-govt-amid-brexit-impasse-62057802

2019-03-31 08:09:12Z
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Brexit: Theresa May considers next step to break deadlock - BBC News

The prime minister is continuing to consider her next move to break the Brexit deadlock following the latest defeat of her withdrawal plan.

Senior government sources say the "ambition" is still to get Theresa May's deal through the Commons.

But MPs will again vote on alternatives on Monday, with a customs union with the EU thought to be MPs' most likely preferred option.

Some senior Brexiteers have warned Mrs May against pursuing such a move.

The prime minister has until 12 April to seek a longer extension to avoid the UK leaving without a deal.

Mrs May said the UK would need "an alternative way forward" after her plan was defeated by 58 votes on Friday, following earlier defeats by 230 and 149 votes.

The government has so far failed to win over 34 Conservative rebels, including both Remainers and Brexiteers who say Mrs May's deal still leaves the UK too closely aligned to Europe.

Northern Ireland's DUP - which the government relies on for support in votes in the House of Commons - also continues to oppose the deal.

But a No 10 source indicated the prime minister would continue to seek support for her Brexit deal in the Commons and insisted efforts were "going in the right direction".

BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth described the cabinet as "deeply divided" over what steps to take next.

Tory Brexiteer Steve Baker, who resigned as a Brexit minister over the PM's handling of negotiations, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that Mrs May's deal "cannot be allowed to go through at any cost".

He also said the Conservative Party could split if the prime minister pursued a customs union with the EU as "it would amount to a reversal of the referendum result".

This is one of the options which could be considered by MPs from all parties during a second round of "indicative votes" on Monday.

The customs union allows businesses to move goods around the EU without checks or charges. Continued membership would bar the UK from striking independent trade deals after Brexit.

None of MPs' eight proposed Brexit options secured a majority in the first set of indicative votes on 27 March, but those which received the most votes were a customs union with the EU and a referendum on any deal.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said his party would propose a deal that involved a customs union with the EU - to protect the issue of avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland.

Leading Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Sunday Telegraph that the party needs to be led by "someone who has always supported Brexit".

He wrote: "Now is the opportunity for the Tories to move from the current government's position of ameliorating a bad idea that, at its highest level, it never believed in, to one that embraces it."

Meanwhile, a number of senior MPs tipped as future Tory leaders have articles and interviews in the Sunday papers setting out their party policy aims.

Dominic Raab, who quit the cabinet in protest at Mrs May's handling of Brexit, has laid out how he would go about dealing with knife crime in the Sunday Telegraph.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, has called for the Tories to "modernise" in a wide-ranging interview in the Sunday Times.

She also picked out cutting stamp duty for young home buyers and taxes for businesses as key policies.

Former cabinet minister Justine Greening said she "might" run for the Tory leadership.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Remain campaigner said the party needed a leader for the "2020s, not the 1920s" that is able to "connect with people".

What happens next?

Monday, 1 April: MPs hold another set of votes on various Brexit options to see if they can agree on a way forward
Wednesday, 3 April: Potentially another round of so-called "indicative votes"
Wednesday, 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
Friday, 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek/EU does not grant further delay
23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

If Mrs May wants to hold another vote on her Brexit deal in Parliament, it has to comply with Commons Speaker John Bercow's ruling that it can only be brought back with "substantial" changes.

This is why the government separated the withdrawal agreement from the political declaration - on the future relationship with the EU - for Friday's vote.

The withdrawal agreement is the part of the Brexit deal Mrs May struck with Brussels which sets out how much money the UK must pay to the EU as a settlement, details of the transition period, and the Irish backstop arrangements.

Following Friday's vote, Mrs May said there would be "grave" implications of rejecting the deal and warned they were "reaching the limits of this process in this House".

Her comments led some to speculate the PM could try to call a general election.

However, Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan told The Observer: "If we have a general election before Brexit is resolved, it will only make things worse."

Under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, the prime minister needs a two-thirds majority in order to call an election.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47763494

2019-03-31 04:24:09Z
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Sabtu, 30 Maret 2019

Zuzana Caputova becomes Slovakia's first female president - BBC News

Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia's presidential election, making her the country's first female head of state.

Ms Caputova, who has almost no political experience, defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic from the governing party in a second round run-off vote.

She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil.

The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year.

Jan Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot alongside his fiancée in February 2018.

Ms Caputova cited Mr Kuciak's death as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role.

With almost all votes counted, she has won about 58% to Mr Sefcovic's 42%.

She gained prominence as a lawyer, when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.

Aged 45, a divorcee and mother of two, she is a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, which has no seats in parliament.

In a country where same-sex marriage and adoption is not yet legal, her liberal views promote LGBTQ+ rights.

The opponent she defeated, Mr Sefcovic, is vice president of the European Commission.

He was nominated by the ruling Smer-SD party, which is led by Robert Fico, who was forced to resign as prime minister following the Kuciak murder.

In the first voting round, Ms Caputova won 40% of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic gaining less than 19%.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47756368

2019-03-31 02:56:11Z
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