Theresa May has agreed to reveal her plan for leaving the European Union before triggering formal negotiations in return for a commitment from MPs to respect her deadline of the end of March next year.
The British prime minister, on a two-day visit to Bahrain to discuss post-Brexit trade with Gulf leaders, had up to the agreement faced potential embarrassment in the House of Commons on Wednesday, after dozens of Conservatives threatened to back a Labour motion calling for the plan to be published before she invokes article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
The government said on Tuesday afternoon it would accept an amended version of Labour’s motion, which would include a commitment to invoking article 50 by the end of March 2017, an acknowledgement that the result of last June’s referendum should be accepted, and a proviso that the publication of the plan should not undermine the government’s stance in the Brexit negotiations.
Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer welcomed the move, which he described as a "hugely significant climbdown" by the government.
“For the last two months, Labour have been pushing the government to put their plan for Brexit before parliament and the public.
“Without that plan, we have had unnecessary uncertainty, speculation and a running commentary on the government’s likely approach. The government have now agreed to publish that plan, and to do so before article 50 is invoked,” he said.
A ‘masterstroke’
Conservatives hailed the amendment as a masterstroke on the part of the government, with veteran Eurosceptic MP Gerard Howarth claiming that, far from climbing down, Ms May had shot Labour's fox.
“It’s a great opportunity now for the House to come together and do what I think the vast majority of people in the country want, particularly industry and commerce - they want us to get on with the process of renegotiating our position, negotiating our exit from the European Union, and this motion states that we will do that,” he said.
Earlier, the European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the actual timeline for negotiations would be shorter than the two-year framework set out under article 50.
Instead, it is more likely to be 18 months, as the two-year time frame includes a period for the European Council to set out its guidelines and to authorise the commencement of the negotiations.
“All in all there will be less than 18 months to negotiate. That is short,” he said.
“Should the UK notify by the end of March as prime minister Theresa May said she would, it is safe to say negotiations could start a few weeks later and an Article 50 reached by October 2018.”
Mr Barnier warned London against “cherry-picking” parts of EU membership.
“The single market and its four freedoms [which includes freedom of movement] are indivisible. Cherry picking is not an option,” he said.
