Theresa May has admitted she will not bring her revised Brexit deal to Parliament in time for MPs to hold a “meaningful vote” this week.
The Prime Minister has said she plans to, instead, put her deal to Parliament by 12 March at the latest, which leaves just 17 days before Britain is formally due to leave the EU.
The decision has ramped up calls for Article 50 to be extended in order to avoid the risk of the UK automatically leaving with no deal.
But in new talks with EU leaders, Mrs May has said she is against extending Article 50 to allow more time for talks on a withdrawal deal.
Despite facing pressure from pro-Europe Tories on the issue, the Prime Minister told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she still believes an agreement can be sorted out by the scheduled exit date of 29 March.
A senior UK Government official said Article 50 was mentioned “briefly” in the 45-minute talks and the PM remained with the view that such a move would only “delay decisions”.
The official added: “They did discuss Brexit, they discussed UK Parliament, things that have been happening in UK Parliament, things that are happening this week.”
The issue of extending Article 50 has cropped up again as MPs are concerned that the Prime Minister will continue to run down the clock until the scheduled leave date – 29 March – to force them into a binary choice between no deal or her deal.
Many MPs, including senior ministers, have openly stated their objection to a no deal due to the amount of disruption it could cause.
The Commons will hold a series of votes on Monday when the Government will table a “neutral” motion which will give MPs the chance to put down amendments to be voted on.
The actual amendments to be voted on will depend on which are selected by House Speaker John Bercow but it is looking increasingly likely that they will be centred around a possible extension of Article 50.
The key amendment is expected to be a cross-party move, drawn up by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Tory former minister Sir Oliver Letwin, which would effectively block a no-deal Brexit.
The amendment is designed to force the Government to seek an extension to Article 50, delaying Britain’s departure from the EU, if there is no deal agreed on by mid March.
If MPs approve the Cooper-Letwin proposal, it doesn’t legally oblige the government to delay Brexit but it would provide parliamentary time for MPs to vote on a bill to transpose the proposal into law.
Once passed, the goal would be to set up a vote in mid-March during which MPs would face a two-way choice between no deal and extending Article 50 and, if the latter was chosen, Mrs May would be obliged to return to Brussels to ask for extra time.
A similar amendment was defeated last month, despite official backing from the Labour Party, but it is expected to secure more support as the Brexit deadline draws ever-nearer without an agreed deal.
More senior Tories are believed to be poised to support such a plan in order to prevent a no deal from happening.
Three Cabinet ministers, Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Gauke, have even hinted they could help support a delay, and there are reports that up to 20 ministers could be prepared to resign – or risk the sack – in order to back it.
But other senior figures have said it would be a “mistake” for MPs to support the amendment as it effectively takes control of the Brexit process out of the hands of the Government and passes to Parliament with potentially unforeseen consequences.
The Tory Brexit Delivery Group (TBG) has put forward another amendment which would demand that the Government calls a vote on a two-month extension of Article 50, until 23 May, if Mrs May’s deal is not passed on 12 March.
Unlike the previous amendment, the extension would be strictly time-limited until 23 May which is the day of the European Parliament election.
It has been put forward by Tory backbenchers Simon Hart and Andrew Percy who hope it could win the backing of Number 10 because it is a more acceptable alternative to the Cooper plan to “take back control”.
In announcing the amendment, Simon Hart told Tory MPs: “It would be strictly time limited, unlike Letwin-Cooper. The Government would remain in control and it could attract the support of both those of us who want to leave on a deal and those who want us to leave with no deal.
“Such an amendment could offer some colleagues who have indicated they might support Letwin-Cooper a way out, whilst also removing the danger of a crashing out at the end of March without a deal.”
The Guardian has also reported that EU officials are considering plans to delay Brexit until 2021 in response to Mrs May’s apparent inability to secure a Commons majority.
According to the reports Brussels is trying to avoid granting a short extension and then have to revisit the issue in two months time. Instead they are considering replacing the 21-month transition period with a delay to allow for the UK and the EU to secure a future relationship.
In doing so it would make the contentious Irish backstop redundant and avoid one of the key stumbling blocks of current talks.
“A 21-month extension makes sense as it would cover the multi-financial framework and make things easier,” a source was quoted as saying.
“Provided leaders are not completely down with Brexit fatigue, and a three-month technical extension won’t cut it, I would expect a 21-month kick. It is doing the rounds in Brussels corridors.”
But any extension to Article 50 would have to be agreed by all 28 EU member countries and would have to be requested by the UK first.
