A government plan to ask MPs to vote on a version of her Brexit deal on Friday descended into farce as the opposition parties made clear they could not support it.
In a move that caused confusion in Westminster, leader of the House Andrea Leadsom announced only half of the package Theresa May agreed with Brussels would be voted on in a last-minute attempt to secure the delay to Brexit until May 22.
The previous two ‘meaningful votes’ by MPs have been on the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration combined.
The Withdrawal Agreement is the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU, while the Political Declaration sets out the framework for the future trade relationship between the two.
Under the new plan, the government hoped to pass the Withdrawal Agreement alone tomorrow. This would allow the UK to qualify for an extension in Brexit talks to May 22 under the terms set down by the European Council last week.
But the wheels swiftly came off. Labour said it will not back the motion, claiming the government was trying to “break the law” as Jeremy Corbyn warned of a “blindfold” Brexit. Sky News reported the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party would not swing behind it either.
With hardline Tory Brexiteers also likely to resist, attempts by the government to secure more time to try to win a proper third meaningful vote to ratify the Brexit deal appear to be dashed.
The government had to be seen to be doing something - however futile - as the PM must secure Commons approval for her deal by 11pm on Friday for the UK to be granted the automatic delay by the EU.
The announcement prompted acrimonious scenes in the House of Commons.
Labour MP Mary Creagh described the partial vote as an “extraordinary and unprecedented reverse ferret”.
Labour chairman of the Brexit select committee, Hilary Benn, asked if Brexit was delayed to May 22 whether at that point it would “no longer be possible” to apply for a further extension after that - because it would be too late to take part in the European parliamentary elections.
Defending the move in the Commons, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said ministers “could not let the time limit expire” without giving MPs the chance to vote.
If the government loses the vote, the UK will be heading for a no-deal exit on April 12. It will also ramp up speculation that a general election could be called as a way out of the mess.