Withdrawal Agreement Bill shelved as May desperately tries to postpone her own exit
Yet again, Theresa May’s “strong and stable” government has wobbled. She has withdrawn her Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) until the first week of June.
The first anybody knew about it was when government whip Mark Spencer, announcing business for the House of Commons to carry out on Friday (May 24), failed to mention the WAB.
Withdrawal Bill was due to be published tomorrow but is not mentioned in the list of business. It seems it won't be published until at least the first week of June. The government has wobbled again. Strong and stable? 🤣🤣🤣 #TheresaMayResign #bbcnews #itvnews
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) May 23, 2019
Of course it may never be published at all. Consider this:
More on the Withdrawal Bill: Downing St spokesperson says .@theresa_may is listening to colleagues concerns and focused on delivering #Brexit – yeah, right. By pulling delivery of the Bill? #ResignTheresaMay #PoliticsLive #bbcnews #ToryLeadership
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) May 23, 2019
It seems I may be right. Mrs May is under huge pressure to abandon the Bill, due to its unpopularity with ministers and backbenchers alike. But then she would have no reason to put off her long-overdue and expected resignation any longer – and as you know, I don’t believe there’s any way of removing her from 10 Downing Street other than violence.
The Guardian is reporting that she is having meetings with ministers to discuss re-writing the Bill, in an effort to stave off her ejection from the Tory leadership:
“The prime minister will delay publication of the legislation until the first week of June while she listens to the concerns of the cabinet about it opening the door to a second referendum. There is heavy speculation May will announce a timetable for her departure on Friday.
“Some No 10 insiders privately admit that May’s resignation as Conservative leader on Friday or Monday is a very likely outcome but say the prime minister may not have come to that conclusion yet.”
It is widely believed that Andrea Leadsom quit as Leader of the House of Commons in order to position herself as a leadership candidate, and we can all enjoy the sight of cabinet ministers putting on their best ‘startled gazelle’ looks as they are accosted by reporters. For example – Michael Gove:
Hilarious. Reporter asks a fleeing Michael Gove, "Will you be following in the footsteps of Andrea Leadsom and will resigning strengthen your position?" His response: "No." #ResignTheresaMay #PoliticsLive #bbcnews
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) May 23, 2019
And then he dived into his ministerial car, accompanied by a clutch of suitcases and handbags.
Last word for now: Mel Stride has become the new Leader of the House of Commons. Who? Exactly.
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