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Steven Swinford
@Steven_Swinford
, 4 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
Exclusive:

Brexit will be delayed for up to two months under plans being considered by Theresa May to extend Article 50

No 10 officials have drawn up a series of options for PM ahead of crunch votes this week.

Extending A50 is among them

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
Under one option in No 10 paper being considered by PM she will extend A50 if a deal cannot be reached by March 12

It's a finely balanced decision.

Such a move would avert Commons defeat over Cooper/Boles, but trigger rage from Eurosceptics
PM is also considering another option in No 10 paper for a 'conditional' vote on AG's plans to ensure backstop is temporary

Reasoning two-fold - it would buy PM time for negotiations, and also give her negotiating capital with Brussels if it passes
The option being considered by PM does not say how long A50 would be extended for

But ministers have been discussing a two-month extension to the end of May to ensure UK does not have to take part in European elections
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More from @Steven_Swinford see all

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Steven Swinford
@Steven_Swinford
Exclusive:

Labour whistleblower says Corbyn allies intervened in anti-Semitism cases as 'matter of routine'

Former official said dealing with sensitive complaints was 'like stepping on an an electric rail'

Labour says claims are 'malicious lies'

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
Here's the Labour whistleblower:

'Cases were routinely discussed by the leader’s office

'It was like stepping on an electrified rail whenever we suspended someone known to Jeremy Corbyn. Loto [the leader’s office] engaged in disciplinary cases as a matter of routine'
Here's Labour's response:

'These are malicious lies from a disgruntled former employee.

'A request was made to individuals in leader’s office for help in clearing a backlog of cases, which was complied with in good faith. No evidence has been provided to back up these claims'
Read 3 tweets
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Steven Swinford
@Steven_Swinford
Exclusive:

Geoffrey Cox has abandoned attempts to secure a hard time-limit or unilateral exit mechanism to Irish backstop

The aims, which represent the central demands of Eurosceptics, are considered too 'blunt' and have been rejected by EU

telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
Geoffrey Cox now focusing on an enhanced 'arbitration mechanism' that allows UK and EU to give formal notice that they want to break off from backstop

UK wants independent arbitration panel to decide whether backstop can end

EU is flatly rejecting - it wants ECJ to have role
Steve Baker on Cox abandoning backstop time-limit & unilateral exit:

'This seems to indicate a satirical approach to fulfilling Brady amendment.

'Brady required you replace backstop with alternative arrangements

'That's light years away from tweaking arbitration mechanisms'
Read 4 tweets
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Steven Swinford
@Steven_Swinford
Some robust exchanges in Cabinet.

* Liz Truss criticised 'kamikaze' Cabinet Remainers for undermining PM by attempting to take no deal off the table

* Gavin Williamson warned extending A50 is runs risk of long extension - suggested EU will be able to set length
Andrea Leadsom said to be furious with Rudd, Gauke and Clark.

She said she was dismayed by the disintegration of collective responsibility.

She said Cabinet had lost 'credibility' with backbenchers and it had damaged credibility of party
There were a fair few Cabinet ministers warning against extending A50.

My latest count - which is rising by the minute - includes:

The PM
Gavin Williamson
Andrea Leadsom
Julian Smith
Brandon Lewis
Liz Truss
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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katya adler
@BBCkatyaadler
EU watching Westminster closely this week but not rushing to any
conclusions. Here is some of the key thinking in European capitals on
the main #Brexit issues of the day: /1
On Labour/second referendum: Corbyn seen in Europe as convinced
eurosceptic so EU is sceptical of his backing a second referendum. EU
has watched #Brexit turmoil long enough to see huge complications in
holding the vote and realise many leave voters have changed their
mind. /2
Of course EU would still rather UK stayed but Europe's leaders don't
see this as realistically on the cards right now. Most realistic,
considering turmoil in Westminster, says EU council President Tusk:
would be to extend article 50 leaving process. /3
Read 11 tweets
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Alec Muffett
@AlecMuffett
#Brexit in a nutshell: theguardian.com/politics/2019/…
I'm confident that the reason we're in this mess is that the men involved in #Brexit are those who grew up on a diet of "Battle", "Warlord" & "Commando" comics, which is how we got our mindless xenophobia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Pi…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlord_(…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando_…
Nowadays it would all be #CallOfDuty and so forth, but we'd be playing on servers with PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE OTHER COUNTRIES AND COULD LOOK PAST THE STORYLINE
Read 5 tweets
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katya adler
@BBCkatyaadler
1) Again and again I’m struck by the chasm in thinking between leading MP’s on #Brexit and the viewpoint of EU leaders - and remember, if you want a deal, it takes two to tango
2) There is ZERO appetite or intention in EU circles to renegotiate this withdrawal deal
3) The EU would love the U.K. to remain a member of the club but if we’re leaving - then this is the divorce deal
Read 14 tweets
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Maddy Thimont Jack
@ThimontJack
As things stand there are two key options for the PM
- continue as planned & try to get deal through Parliament
- accept there will be no deal so immediately increase govt planning

In both cases the govt will have to go to parliament, I've set out no deal process below👇1/
EU Withdrawal Act says 3 prospects for no deal:
1) parly votes down the deal
2) PM announces that no deal can be reached by 21 Jan
3) 21 Jan arrives without a deal

In whichever scenario a minister has to make a statement saying what the govt plans to do next 2/
But Parliament will likely want to influence this process (e.g. extend article 50, second referendum) - because it is still unlikely there is a majority in the House for no deal

I think there are three ways that parliament could try and do this 3/
Read 8 tweets
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Jon Worth
@jonworth
This @politicoeurope piece and infographic by @kbolongaro about the #Brexit and the ham and cheese sandwich has been widely retweeted.

Do read the whole piece - don't just rely on the infographic.

politico.eu/article/brexit…

1/15
But let's just say for a minute that, spurred on by national sandwich sentiment post a No Deal Brexit, the UK did want to make itself more self-sustaining in its food production, what could it do?

2/15
First some stats: Defra has useful stats on UK food import dependency here: gov.uk/government/sta…

The first Excel table shows how import dependency for food has been growing (the UK now imports 40% of its food), and the second Excel download lists value by food type.

3/15
Read 17 tweets
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Nicolai von Ondarza
@NvOndarza
Theresa May's new Op-Ed on #Brexit. telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/0…

Main proposal is to enshrine Brexit Day 29 March 2019 in UK law
This is again a strategic choice for internal reasons (fix Brexit date!) with devastating consequences for UK position in negotiations
It robs UK of the flexibility to extend negotiations for even a couple of months to ensure ratification, thereby increasing time pressure while UK is already with back at the wall
Read 6 tweets

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