The amendment by Dominic Grieve and allowed through by the Speaker, John Bercow, has not forced the anti-Brexit pace in Parliament into a gallop, more like a bit of a trot.

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Now, it seems that the grand plan by the Speaker, John Bercow, and the Tory Remainer and former Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, has come unstuck, reports Guide Fawkes.

Although Theresa May will be forced to table her new Brexit plan B on Monday the 21st January, because of Grieve's amendment that Bercow broke the rules of precedent to allow MPs to vote through, it appears there is a loophole that the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, has used that allows the debate and vote on it to be delayed until Tuesday the 29th January – another week nearer to Brexit Day.

Leadsom has importantly though, also delayed bringing Brexit legislation forward that supports our exit from the EU.

Now, this does prevent anti-Brexit MPs trying to add all sorts of Brexit breaking amendments to these bills, which include the trade bill, the financial services bill and the immigration bill.

But there is very little time left to get these through the system and to Royal Assent. The Justice Secretary, David Gauke, told the BBC that the government only had days before they run out of parliamentary time to do this.

Now, the PM is, it seems, determined to push her deal through.

Maybe she's using these new inter-party discussions she started last night as a sort of cover to give her something to table next Monday and then let the ticking clock apply pressure on MPs who are terrified of the no deal option that she has hoisted above Downing Street for all to see.

Then, if she can wear the house down far enough to win a vote on her deal, she might be thinking that the further legislation required would be easier to get through – apart from the actions of any Brexiteers of course.

The trouble is that this legislation is also needed for a no-deal WTO exit from the EU. So surely any delay now, would make it easier for Remainers to sabotage the passage of that legislation? Even if MPs sat at weekends and cancelled the February mid term break.

At some stage it will become technically impossible to get all the laws in place in time to cover a no-deal exit and, crucially, this point in time could come before the point at which legislating for May's deal becomes impossible, as the legislation needed for her deal is a bit less complex than for no-deal.

The Remain side does of course know this and understands the repercussions. They may not be as worried about a delay as we would think. They may be thinking that the pressure is being applied the other way, in the belief that no-one would choose to leave without legislation in place. So, if they string it out it long enough they may think that the PM will be forced to go to the EU for an extension to Article 50.

Whereas Theresa May thinks she can cow enough of the Remainers into submission to accept her deal with the threat of a no deal exit – even one not backed by the missing legislation.

As has been said before, are we now seeing a complex situation reduced to a game of chicken? But with loads of cars all hurtling towards the same spot with an outcome of many, many permutations.

But let's stand back and look at the real facts here. There is a clear and present route to a no deal Brexit. This is a very realistic outcome, especially given how our politicians are acting at the moment. Now, whatever your thoughts on whether a no deal WTO Brexit should happen or not, don't you think that our government and parliament have an iron-clad duty to ensure that the laws are in place to cover that very realistic outcome?

Our politicians have already proved that cannot agree on any one deal whether it be May's, Canada +++ or Norway or whatever. They will fight each other over that for months and years.

Some MPs may want to extend the Article 50 process but that would probably need primary legislation to allow the government to approach the EU27 for unanimous agreement – and what if just one of the the EU27 says no?

Some MPs will say let's just rescind the Article 50 letter, but that would take primary legislation to repeal the Withdrawal Act and to re-instate any acts repealed by that act, in order to allow us to stay in the EU as a full member, past the 29th March.

And if there's no time for Brexit legislation ban then, there will probably not be time for anti-Brexit legislation either.

The May deal supporters and the Remainers are playing with a political stick of dynamite – watching the fuse burn down as they throw it back and forth. And it will come our way just before detonation.

If those politicians were really so worried about a no-deal Brexit, then why have they not already fully prepared and legislated for it 'just in case'?

The voters would definitely not forgive them for failing to do that!

And if they get it wrong guess what, May will point at the Remainers and the Remainers will point at May, when the truth will be that, apart from the more or less powerless true Brexiteers, our politicians failed and none are fit to sit on those green benches!

And they failed because they would not buckle to the will of the people, full stop!

Finally, the Electoral Commission appears to be making preparations for not only a second referendum but also for EU parliamentary elections for MEPs, reports the Times.

This is said to be just sensible contingency planning. Isn't it strange that we can make so-called sensible contingency planning to stay in the EU, but not to leave on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms – makes me sick!

Now, if a totally unwarranted second referendum was called, then that would certainly entail extending the Article 50 process beyond March the 29th but would need the unanimous agreement of the EU27. And if that extension went beyond the 2nd of July, which is when the new EU Parliament starts, then the UK would have to participate in the MEP elections. And as the latest estimate puts the time needed to prepare for a referendum at 14 months, then you get the picture.

The other route, that of revoking or rescinding Article 50 comes with the firm understanding that we are staying permanently in the EU, as stated by our Attorney General, which may then actually mean there'd be no referendum at all in the end – and the automatic inclusion of the UK in the EU MEP elections.

Those two options are now unthinkable – we must prepare for a full no-deal WTO exit starting right now with the full support of the whole of parliament and the establishment, including the media.

Sources:

Leadsom Outwits Bercow and Grieve on Brexit 'Plan B'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46894544

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brexit-electoral-commission-ready-for-second-referendum-srnnldn20

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