May Backs Down on Parliament Vote Over Her Brexit Terms

[Denzil_DC]

Prime Minister Theresa May has accepted that Parliament should be allowed to vote on her plan for taking Britain out of the European Union, but asked lawmakers to do it in a way that gives her space to negotiate.

The decision seemed to calm investors after they dumped the pound on concern May was taking a gung-ho approach to the negotiations. The currency took a beating after May signaled her intention to put immigration curbs before the City of London’s interests in pulling Britain out of the European Union.

Parliament will debate on Wednesday a motion from the opposition Labour Party calling for a “full and transparent debate on the government’s plan for leaving the EU” and for Parliament to be able to “properly scrutinize that plan” before she begins formal talks. The request is supported by some lawmakers from May’s own Conservative Party.

In response, May late on Tuesday tabled an amendment that effectively accepted the motion, adding that there shouldn’t be an attempt to block Brexit or “undermine the negotiating position of the government.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-11/may-backs-down-on-parliament-vote-over-her-brexit-terms

She blinked.

RW hardline Brexiters were already tiring of her before this:

May's Five U-Turns in Three Months

Theresa May has not yet been Prime Minister for three months and she has already u-turned on five significant policy issues:

* EU citizens’ right to remain: During her leadership campaign May refused to guarantee the status of EU nationals living in the UK, now the government says they are “100% sure” they’ll be allowed to stay.

* Hinkley Point: May announced a welcome pause on the new power plant, before approving the same deal proposed by Osborne.

* Northern Powerhouse: Reports suggested May had decided to ditch Osborne’s pet project, she’s now said she’s fully behind it.

* Foreign doctors: Jeremy Hunt suggested foreign doctors wouldn’t be able to stay in the country if they could be replaced by British recruits. May then failed three times in an interview to say the policy would go ahead.

* Foreign staff lists: Amber Rudd’s plan to force companies to publish how many foreign staff they employ has now been abandoned.

http://order-order.com/2016/10/10/theresa-mays-u-turns/

[LeftishBrit]

1. Good

May might like to be Charles 1, ruling with the Divine Right of Kings, but I don't think she wants her head cut off - not that there's very much in it, I suspect.

She likes to look tough, but is quite a flip-flopper. Fortunately.

[Denzil_DC]

2. Cabinet tensions grow as ministers back Hammond's warning over hard Brexit

Several cabinet members have aligned themselves with Philip Hammond in cautioning against the risks of a “hard Brexit”, with sources suggesting these allies include the business secretary, Greg Clark, and the work and pensions secretary, Damian Green.

The chancellor has been accused by ministers who supported Brexit before the referendum of attempting to undermine the process, in particular by urging a delay on migration curbs amid fears of the impact if Britain loosens its economic ties with the EU too dramatically.

But Whitehall sources have confirmed that Hammond is not a “lone voice” inside government, with several other cabinet figures who supported the remain campaign calling on the prime minister to keep open the possibility of close economic ties with the EU.

Clark and Green, who are both on May’s Brexit committee, are said to have been making their case behind closed doors. Other senior colleagues, including the education secretary, Justine Greening, are also thought to be supportive of Hammond’s stance, which is focused on maintaining as much access as possible to the single market as the UK quits the EU.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/17/philip-hammond-not-lone-voice-caution-on-brexit

Related, from earlier in the day:

No 10 plays down cabinet differences over Brexit

Theresa May is keen to hear the “differing views” of ministers in the run-up to Brexit negotiations, her spokeswoman has said following cabinet media briefings against the chancellor, Philip Hammond, by pro-leave cabinet colleagues.

In a sign of apparent cabinet tensions over the balance between limiting immigration and keeping open access to the EU, unnamed cabinet sources told two newspapers about anger towards Hammond over his concerns about plans to swiftly restrict immigration from the EU.

But the prime minister’s official spokeswoman told reporters: “The prime minister has full confidence in the chancellor and the work that he is doing.”

Oh dear (my bold).

One unnamed cabinet source described Hammond as “overly influenced by his Treasury officials who think it is a catastrophe that Britain voted to leave the EU”, the Telegraph reported.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/17/philip-hammonds-brexit-worries-point-to-cabinet-tensions

Bloody Bremoaners get everywhere.