Labour to back Cooper plan for Brexit delay to prevent no-deal ‘chaos’
Labour is set to back a plan which could delay Brexit in order to prevent the “chaos” of a no-deal departure from the European Union.
Jeremy Corbyn’s party will back an amendment tabled by senior backbencher Yvette Cooper which would result in the extension of Article 50 to keep the UK in the EU until the end of the year in order to reach a deal.
Former Cabinet minister Ms Cooper’s plan has cross-party support, including from senior Tory Nick Boles, and would allow MPs to call for the delay if no deal had been approved by February 26.
The UK is currently expected to leave – with or without a deal – on March 29.
Here’s the Bill. It gives the Govt til end of Feb to sort things out, but if they haven’t, then Parliament would get a vote on whether to extend article 50 & get a bit more time. It gives Govt & Parliament a chance to avert No Deal in March if time has run out pic.twitter.com/P2rMfDuEZ3
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) January 23, 2019
Labour has been cautious about officially throwing its weight behind the plan, with the party’s leadership nervous about alienating Leave-supporting voters in some of its heartlands.
But Labour MPs will now be told to vote for it as the Commons considers a series of options for the next phase of the Brexit process.
However, the Opposition will seek to limit the delay to the UK’s departure from the bloc.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the plan was a “fallback” to guard against a no-deal Brexit.
“The issue is how long an extension could be and the general view is as short as possible,” he said.
“But it is literally just a fallback in case there is no deal agreed.”
.@YvetteCooperMP has presented a Bill which would allow the @HouseofCommons to instruct the Prime Minister to seek extension to #Article50 in certain circumstances. Our new briefing explains how this would work https://t.co/QbAvApnhj2
— Commons Library (@commonslibrary) January 23, 2019
He suggested that the party was looking at an extension of around three months, shorter than the period envisaged by Ms Cooper and Mr Boles.
Under the plan, the Commons would consider Ms Cooper’s European Union (Withdrawal) (No 3) Bill on February 5, rather than any Government business.
The legislation would give MPs the chance to instruct Theresa May to seek an extension to Article 50 until the end of 2019 if she has not secured a deal by February 26.
A senior Labour source said: “We’re backing the Cooper amendment to reduce the threat of the chaos of a no-deal exit.
“The Cooper Bill could give MPs a temporary window to agree a deal that can bring the country together.
“We will aim to amend the Cooper Bill to shorten the possible Article 50 extension.”
Ms Cooper has insisted her Bill is not an attempt to prevent Brexit but it “gives Government and Parliament a chance to avert no deal in March if time has run out”.
Any extension to Article 50 would have to be approved by all 27 remaining EU states.
Remaining in the EU until the end of the year could also mean participating in elections to the European Parliament in May.
