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Brexit: Theresa May promises White Paper on EU exit plan Brexit: Theresa May promises White Paper on EU exit plan
(about 2 hours later)
Theresa May has said the government will set out its Brexit plans in a formal policy document, during Prime Minister's Questions clashes. Theresa May has announced the government will set out its Brexit plans in a formal policy document.
The PM said she recognised there was an "appetite" for a White Paper setting out her "bold plan". During Prime Minister's Questions, she said she recognised an "appetite" for a White Paper on her "bold" proposals for negotiations with the EU.
A number of Conservative MPs had joined Labour in asking for such a move.A number of Conservative MPs had joined Labour in asking for such a move.
Labour's Jeremy Corbyn demanded to know when the paper would be published and said the PM was threatened to turn the UK into a "bargain basement" economy. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded to know when the paper would be published - his party says this must be before MPs vote on getting Brexit under way.
It comes after the Supreme Court ruled MPs must vote on whether the government can start Brexit. Mrs May's announcement comes a day after the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament - not ministers - must decide whether the government can invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, triggering the two year process of leaving the EU.
A parliamentary bill paving the way for talks with the EU could be introduced as early as Thursday. A parliamentary bill to this effect could be introduced as early as Thursday. The prime minister wants to get negotiations under way by the end of March, leaving the government with a tight timetable.
More than half a dozen Conservative MPs including some ex-ministers had called for a White Paper - a government policy document which sets out proposals for future acts of Parliament - on Brexit to be published in the coming days. Before Mrs May's announcement, opposition parties and more than half a dozen Conservative MPs including some ex-ministers had called for a White Paper - a government policy document which sets out proposals for future acts of Parliament - on Brexit.
The BBC understands they discussed this with Conservative Party whips on Tuesday. At Prime Minister's Questions, Mrs May said: "I recognise that there is an appetite in this House to see that plan set out in a White Paper. I can confirm to the House that our plan will be set out in a White Paper published in this House."
Labour is warning it is prepared to engage in "hand-to-hand combat" in Parliament to ensure the process of leaving the EU is fully scrutinised. But she added that she regarded the Article 50 debate as "a separate question" from the publication of what she said would be "a bold vision for Britain for the future".
The party says it will not vote against a parliamentary bill invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - getting talks with the EU under way - but will try to amend it. Mr Corbyn pressed the prime minister for a date for the White Paper's publication, which Labour wants to happen before voting on the bill takes place.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the government could only invoke Article 50 with a vote in Parliament - rejecting ministers' argument that this was not necessary. Speaking after Prime Minister's Questions, Mrs May's official spokeswoman said it would come out "in due course".
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said she expected a short bill to be published on Thursday, with a view to it being debated for the first time next week. For Labour, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: "This U-turn comes just 24 hours after [Brexit Secretary] David Davis seemed to rule out a White Paper, and failed to answer repeated questions from MPs on all sides of the House.
Mrs May wants to invoke Article 50 by the end of March. "The prime minister now needs to confirm that this White Paper will be published in time to inform the Article 50 process, and that it will clear up the inconsistencies, gaps and risks outlined in her speech."
Almost all Conservative MPs are expected to back the government and the bill is likely to pass. Setting out her Brexit plans last week, Mrs May said the UK would leave the European single market and EU customs union, but promised to work to achieve the best free trade deals possible.
For Labour, shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government was creating a "drip-feed" of information, adding: "Parliamentarians would like to see a central role for Parliament in shaping this country." Almost all Conservative MPs are expected to back the government in the Article 50 vote and the bill is likely to pass.
But former Conservative leader Lord Howard told Today: "The government has been instructed by the British people to negotiate our exit from the European Union." It was "ridiculous" to argue that Parliament should guide negotiations, he added. Labour says it will not vote against the bill, but will try to amend it, and the Scottish National Party says it has 50 amendments "ready to go"
The Scottish National Party says it has 50 amendments "ready to go" and expects to be properly consulted over issues such as trade and customs arrangement on an "equal basis". One of the SNP's MPs, Tommy Sheppard, accused the government of a "major U-turn" over the White Paper, saying Mrs May's announcement during Prime Minister's Questions had been a "theatrical stunt to announce a very important public policy".
The Liberal Democrats, who have only nine MPs but more than 100 peers, say they will vote against triggering Article 50 unless there is a guarantee of the public having a vote on the final deal reached between the UK government and the EU.The Liberal Democrats, who have only nine MPs but more than 100 peers, say they will vote against triggering Article 50 unless there is a guarantee of the public having a vote on the final deal reached between the UK government and the EU.
Leader Tim Farron said that if the referendum he was proposing rejected whatever deal the UK had reached with the EU, the country would stay in the European Union. The party's Alistair Carmichael said: "This White Paper will only be relevant if it is published before the votes on the Article 50 next week, and if it goes into more detail than May's speech."
Meanwhile, the Scottish government will set out its official response to the Supreme Court's ruling on Wednesday.
The 11 justices ruled that the UK government was not legally bound to take the views of the Scottish Parliament and other devolved administrations into account when triggering Article 50.
But amid reports that the Scottish Parliament could hold a vote on the issue anyway, former First Minister Alex Salmond told BBC's Newsnight if its "reasonable proposals" - which include continued access for Scottish firms to the single market - were not listened to, there could be another Scottish independence referendum within two years.
On Monday, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood published a joint plan for Brexit, calling for full access to the single market and a "balanced approach" immigration, linking migration to jobs.
The document also urged the UK government to keep promises that Wales would not lose funding and demanded a "fundamentally different" relationship between devolved governments and Westminster after Brexit.