Yesterday, the House of Commons passed a bill which requires the Prime Minister to request an extension of Article 50 beyond 12 April 2019. The draft legislation does not specify a new extension date but would instead give Parliament the power to decide the length of the delay. The Bill, tabled by Yvette Cooper MP passed by 313 votes to 312.
The Bill is due to be considered by the House of Lords later today. However, several Peers have already tabled amendments to a business motion in an attempt to frustrate or block the passage of the Bill. If the Bill is passed into law, the EU would need to agree to any extension.
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are set to continue talks today following a meeting yesterday. It is understood that the Prime Minister hopes to agree a policy with the Labour leader and allow MPs to vote on it before an emergency EU Council summit on 10 April 2019. If a consensus cannot be reached, the Prime Minister said the Government will table ‘indicative votes’ on a series of options. During yesterday’s proceedings, MPs rejected an amendment which would have allowed MPs to hold a third round of ‘indicative votes’ on Monday 8 April 2019. As a result, MPs no longer have control of the Order Paper.