Brexit news: John Bercow rules Theresa May cannot bring her deal back for third time unless something has changed
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Your support makes all the difference.John Bercow has dramatically ruled that Theresa May cannot hold another vote on her Brexit deal unless the proposed agreement has changed "substantially".
In a major blow to the prime minister, the Commons speaker invoked a centuries-old rule that says the same motion cannot be voted on more than once in the same parliamentary sitting.
Ms May was reported to be planning a third "meaningful vote" on her deal this week, although Downing Street said it would only happen if there was a "realistic prospect" of success.
If no vote happens in the coming days, she is now expected to ask European leaders for a lengthy extension to the two-year negotiation process, delaying Brexit for months or even years beyond March 29.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
What is happening with Brexit this week and will Theresa May get her deal through parliament? My colleague Rob Merrick explains all...
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt is in Brussels today for meetings with his EU counterparts. He’s tweeted to today the EU fears “Brexit paralysis”...
Jeremy Corbyn is happily helping Britain leave the EU – he is and always was a Brexiteer, writes former Labour MP Chuka Umunna.
Mr Umunna, who left Labour for The Independent Group (TIG) last month, says the Labour leader has made a nominal promise to push for a second public vote but he will be intensely relaxed if it never comes to pass.
Read his column here:
Lots of speculation going on about a statement on from Commons speaker John Bercow at 3.30pm. Some are expecting it to focus on the so-called meaningful vote 3 (MV3) on Theresa May's Brexit deal, which had been expected to come this week.
John Bercow is giving a statement in the Commons about whether MPs can be asked to vote several times on Theresa May's Brexit deal.
He says parliamentary rules state that a motion that has already been voted on by the Commons cannot be voted on against in the same parliamentary session.
This convention is "very strong and of long standing", dating back to 2 April 1604, he says.
He says the rule is necessary "to ensure the sensible use of the House's time and the proper respect for the decisions which it takes".
John Bercow says there are at least 11 occasions on which a Speaker has ruled that a vote cannot take place because the issue in questio has already been voted.
That this hasn't happened since 1920 isn't a sign that the convention has ended but rather that it has been followed, he says.
John Bercow says it was "quite right and proper" that MPs were given a second vote on Ms May's deal because the agreement being voted on had changed since the first vote, and therefore "it could credibly be argued that it was a different proposition".
This is the key part from John Bercow - and it's hugely significant.
Spelling out his position, he says:
"If the government wishes to bring forward a new proposition that is neither the same nor substantially the same as that disposed of by the house on 12 March, this would be entirely in order.
"What the government cannot legitimately do is to resubmit to the House the same proposition or substantially the same proposition as that of last week, which was rejected by 149 votes."
That was very clear from the Commons Speaker: if Theresa May wants to hold a third or even a fourth vote on her Brexit deal, the deal will need to have changed "substantially". Wow.
John Bercow confirms, in response to a point of order from Jacob Rees-Mogg, that the rule about not having repeated Commons votes on the same issue only applies within the same sitting - meaning another vote could be held when the next parliamentary year starts in May...
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