Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
When a cross party group of MPs managed to seize control of the Commons and win backing for a plan to hold indicative votes on Brexit options, the hope was that this would show what type of Brexit – or no Brexit – there was a majority for in Parliament. In the end, things didn’t
Are we looking at a case of déjà vu for Meaningful Vote 3 this week? It’s not just that Theresa May is currently on course for defeat (even with a string of Eurosceptics switching to back the deal the Prime Minister is short of votes). It also looks as though the government may not even be
After the government suffered another defeat last night, MPs will seize control of the Commons and hold votes on various Brexit options on Wednesday. This means that by mid-week there could – in theory – be a majority for a different form of Brexit than May’s deal. The two options seen as likely to attract
Will Theresa May make it to the end of the week? It’s a question that’s been asked before of the Prime Minister but this time the situation is more serious. After a disastrous few days in which May lost the support of her whips, Remain MPs and Brexiteers, the Sunday papers report that a Cabinet
After eight hours of talks between EU leaders, Theresa May has been granted an Article 50 extension. If the Prime Minister can pass her deal next week, there will be technical extension until 22 May. If the deal fails to pass, Article 50 will be extended only until 12 April so that the UK can
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Kay Burley is a Sky News founding member, host of The Kay Burley Show, and holds the record for hosting more hours of live television than any other news presenter. Kay tells Katy about how she ‘knocked the rough edges’ off her accent, her love for Jane Fonda, and why the BBC couldn’t afford her
Theresa May heads to Brussels today to plead for an Article 50 extension. The expectation is that EU leaders will only grant one on the condition her deal passes next week on a third vote. This is looking increasingly hard to do following May’s No. 10 statement last night. In an address to the nation,
Has there been a Brexit disaster? It depends on your point of view. When John Bercow ruled that the Prime Minister could not bring the same deal back for a third vote, there were a great number of MPs who seemed delighted. But they were at opposite ends of the Brexit debate. Needless to say,
After a morning of rumours and heightened tension over the terms of the Article 50 extension Theresa May will seek, No. 10 have finally released the letter. The Prime Minister has asked the European Commission for a brief delay to Brexit until the end of June. In the letter, May makes clear that she has plans
After much speculation, a furious Cabinet and the threat of another backbench rebellion, No. 10 has finally confirmed what type of Article 50 extension Theresa May will seek at Thursday’s EU council summit. Downing Street has said May will not ask for a long delay. Instead, the Prime Minister will seek a brief extension of
No. 10’s strategy to win over the DUP and the Brexiteers to Theresa May’s deal in time for a third vote has hit a wall. It’s not that the talks have stopped – if anything they’re going fairly well. Instead, the Speaker of the Commons has thrown a spanner in the works by suggesting that
Is this the week Theresa May sets out an exit date for her departure from No. 10? There is hope in government that this will be the week the Prime Minister passes her Brexit deal. However, the price of her doing so could include a promise to resign before the second stage of negotiations begin
Theresa May’s week just got a little less bad. This evening the Government managed to successfully defeat a string of amendments seeking to soften Brexit. A cross-party amendment – tabled by Hilary Benn – to seize control of the Commons next week and hold indicative votes next Wednesday failed. It was defeated by just two
Today’s Cabinet meeting was bound to be an unhappy affair after four cabinet ministers broke a three-line whip and abstained on a government motion. Amber Rudd, David Gauke, Greg Clark and David Mundell broke collective responsibility in order to abstain rather than vote against a motion ruling out a no deal Brexit. These ministers claim
This evening, MPs have a chance to try and take control of Brexit by voting on a series of amendments to a government motion on extending Article 50. With Theresa May struggling to keep any semblance of control after her deal was voted down for a second time on Tuesday evening, there is a real
When a British government loses control over parliament, the natural remedy is to hold a general election. Why prolong everyone’s agony? But despite Theresa May having now failed twice to pass her signature Brexit deal, there is no sign she is willing to go back to the country. Jeremy Corbyn is keen for an early
This evening Theresa May’s week went from awful to terrible. After her deal was heavily defeated for a second time on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister had planned to placate MPs by offering them a free vote on whether they wished to try and rule out a no deal Brexit. As Isabel reports on Coffee
How heavily will Theresa May’s deal be defeated this evening? After the DUP announced that they would not be backing the deal in light of the new concessions, it looks near impossible for it to pass this evening. However, there is still much to play for when it comes to managing the size of the
In a rare interview over the weekend, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told the Mail on Sunday that he would not be pushed into giving dubious legal advice on the backstop. He said he would ‘not change’ his opinion unless he was certain there was ‘no legal risk of us being indefinitely detained in the backstop’; ‘My
In order to turn things around with her Brexit deal, Theresa May needs a domino effect. She needs to somehow get 116 MPs to change their vote from last time and back her deal. If the Prime Minister is to have any chance of passing her deal – or significantly reducing the scale of the