Theresa May is unlikely to put her Brexit bill to Parliament next week and will have to accept that the U.K. must hold European elections, according to a government official.
The prime minister is desperate to avoid taking part in the May 23 elections, which threaten to damage her Conservative Party by highlighting the government’s failure to deliver Brexit. Despite agreeing to a six-month extension with the European Union in March, the premier wants to get her Brexit deal ratified in time to avoid the vote.
Parliament has rejected the deal she struck with Brussels three times, and May’s office suggested she might try a different approach, attempting to pass legislation to implement the deal, rather than vote on the accord itself.
While the government has left the door open to putting its Withdrawal Agreement Bill to Parliament next week, it’s unlikely to do so, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. And if the bill isn’t included in the May 2 program of business for the following week, the government would have to concede the EU elections will go ahead, the official said.
On Thursday, Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom’s made no mention of the bill in the government’s program of business for next week.
The government has suggested it will only bring forward the legislation if it knows it has a chance of securing a majority, which effectively means persuading the main opposition Labour Party—or some of its lawmakers—to vote for it. Cross-party talks aimed at a Brexit compromise continued Thursday, though there are none scheduled for Friday, the official said.
If the talks with Labour fail, the government has said it would hold a series of votes on various Brexit options to allow Parliament to reach a consensus. One option would be to use amendments to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill as a proxy for those so-called indicative votes, according to the official.
Yet even if the bill is announced next week, the government would face a race to get it through Parliament in time, making it inevitable that the U.K. will take part in EU elections regardless, the official said.
