,
9 tweets,
3 min read
Read on Twitter
Brief thread on the Government's apparent new plan to separate the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration and only put the former to a vote in the Commons. THREAD
Would the Speaker allow it? Given that it is the future relationship that has been the source of so much of the controversy he certainly should.
(NB: I don't think the Speaker should have ruled MV3 out of order for reasons explained here )
(NB: I don't think the Speaker should have ruled MV3 out of order for reasons explained here )
Would it prevent No Deal? Clearly not. The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 is very clear that to prevent No Deal the Political Declaration also needs to be approved. 
Would it give rise to automatic extension of time under the Council Decision of 22 March 2019?
I doubt it because the legislative hurdle in section 13 won't have been crossed and so the WA won't be *meaningfully* approved. But the EU might consider it "indicates a way forward."
I doubt it because the legislative hurdle in section 13 won't have been crossed and so the WA won't be *meaningfully* approved. But the EU might consider it "indicates a way forward."
If the Withdrawal Agreement passed the Commons, might the Government then table emergency legislation to amend section 13 of the Withdrawal Act removing the need to approve the Political Declaration?
Well, yes, but:
(1) why do that when you could just bring legislation approving the WA and PD and which avoids the need to sidestep the Speaker's ruling (as some of us have been suggesting for days *sigh*)
(1) why do that when you could just bring legislation approving the WA and PD and which avoids the need to sidestep the Speaker's ruling (as some of us have been suggesting for days *sigh*)
(2) would legislation removing the section 13 (Withdrawal Act) need for Parliament to approve the PD pass the House of Commons and Lords in circumstances where (a) the PD is the source of much of the real controversy and (b) we really shouldn't want a blind Brexit.
(3) Could the EU approve the Withdrawal Agreement stripped of a Political Declaration (which is all, in this world, Parliament would have ratified) in light of what Article 50(2) explicitly requires?
I find this difficult but wouldn't count on it.
I find this difficult but wouldn't count on it.
Finally, how do all of these difficult technical questions - with trigger happy putative litigants on both sides of the debate (*looks at the floor*) - get resolved in a sensible time frame?
TL; DR?
Although not bananas in practice this a pretty hopeless new idea from the Govt.
TL; DR?
Although not bananas in practice this a pretty hopeless new idea from the Govt.
