May agrees to outline Brexit plans if MPs back her timetable

Motion and amendment will be subject to a debate and non-binding vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday


Afp December 06, 2016
Prime Minster agrees to publish Brexit plans to the government. PHOTO: PA

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated Tuesday she would accept demands by lawmakers to publish her plan for Brexit before starting formal exit talks, as long as they accept her timetable for leaving the EU.

May was facing a rebellion by up to 40 MPs from her Conservative party over an opposition motion which demanded she reveal her hand before triggering Article 50, the formal mechanism for leaving the EU.

The move is designed to outmanoeuvre the opposition Labour party, which brought Boris Johnson says he favoured Brexit to widen UK foreign policythe original motion to pressure the government.

Boris Johnson says he favoured Brexit to widen UK foreign policy

The government is currently fighting a legal challenge at the Supreme Court to stop parliament having the final say on a decision to trigger Article 50.

Brexit supporters fear that MPs, who were overwhelmingly in favour of staying in the EU in the June referendum, might seek to delay the process or soften the terms of the break.

The motion and amendment will be subject to a debate and non-binding vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The government has repeatedly refused to outline its negotiating strategy for Brexit, but a spokeswoman denied the amendment was a U-turn.

"We have always said we would come forth with more detail as we near the moment of triggering Article 50," she told AFP.

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