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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| A brief guide to where we are with Brexit | A brief guide to where we are with Brexit |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| We are now entering the Brexit "endgame", Prime Minister Theresa May tells us. What does she mean? | We are now entering the Brexit "endgame", Prime Minister Theresa May tells us. What does she mean? |
| The basics: A reminder | The basics: A reminder |
| The UK is due to leave the European Union at 11pm on Friday 29 March, 2019. The reason the UK is leaving is because people voted by 51.9% to 48.1% for Leave in the 2016 referendum. The UK and the EU have spent more than a year trying to agree on how the divorce - as it's often called - will work in practice and what post-Brexit relations will look like. A deal has to agreed by negotiators but also by Theresa May's cabinet, then MPs and, finally, by the 27 other EU member states. | The UK is due to leave the European Union at 11pm on Friday 29 March, 2019. The reason the UK is leaving is because people voted by 51.9% to 48.1% for Leave in the 2016 referendum. The UK and the EU have spent more than a year trying to agree on how the divorce - as it's often called - will work in practice and what post-Brexit relations will look like. A deal has to agreed by negotiators but also by Theresa May's cabinet, then MPs and, finally, by the 27 other EU member states. |
| Will there really be a deal this week? | Will there really be a deal this week? |
| A cabinet source has told BBC the text of the withdrawal agreement has been agreed at a technical level by officials from both sides after intensive talks this week. Theresa May is holding a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the agreement. | |
| Why is the PM so keen to get a deal by Wednesday? | |
| Any hopes of an EU summit to sign off on a withdrawal agreement this month will apparently be hit if the talks go on much longer - there will not be enough time to set up a meeting of the 28 leaders. | Any hopes of an EU summit to sign off on a withdrawal agreement this month will apparently be hit if the talks go on much longer - there will not be enough time to set up a meeting of the 28 leaders. |
| The next possible date for a meeting of EU leaders is in December, which could result in the Commons vote on any deal being delayed until after Christmas. | The next possible date for a meeting of EU leaders is in December, which could result in the Commons vote on any deal being delayed until after Christmas. |
| With uncertainty over whether MPs would back a deal, missing this week's deadline would increase the chances of the UK leaving without one. The UK government would then step up no-deal preparations and spending. | With uncertainty over whether MPs would back a deal, missing this week's deadline would increase the chances of the UK leaving without one. The UK government would then step up no-deal preparations and spending. |
| What were they still arguing about in Brussels? | |
| The sticking point over the Irish border. Both sides are committed to avoiding a return to a visible Northern Ireland border with border posts and checks. They believe that bringing them back would put the peace process at risk. | |
| But the two sides have not been able to agree how they can guarantee this - with the EU insisting on a "backstop" arrangement which will kick in to avoid a physical border if whatever future trade deal the UK and EU agree does not manage to maintain the current border arrangements. | |
| What about a trade deal? | What about a trade deal? |
| The two sides are hoping to agree a rough outline of a trade deal to be signed off at the same time as the withdrawal agreement. If all goes as planned, the details will be hammered out after the UK leaves. | The two sides are hoping to agree a rough outline of a trade deal to be signed off at the same time as the withdrawal agreement. If all goes as planned, the details will be hammered out after the UK leaves. |
| So what happens next? | So what happens next? |
| Even if she does get her top team to sign off on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, Theresa May faces the fight of her life to get MPs to vote for it. | Even if she does get her top team to sign off on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, Theresa May faces the fight of her life to get MPs to vote for it. |
| She does not have a Commons majority and many MPs on her own side - as well as Labour and the other opposition parties - are sceptical about her Brexit plans, or openly hostile to them. | She does not have a Commons majority and many MPs on her own side - as well as Labour and the other opposition parties - are sceptical about her Brexit plans, or openly hostile to them. |
| If the only choice presented to MPs is her plan or a no-deal scenario it could frighten enough waverers into backing her. Labour and some Tories are trying to ensure other options are put to the vote. | If the only choice presented to MPs is her plan or a no-deal scenario it could frighten enough waverers into backing her. Labour and some Tories are trying to ensure other options are put to the vote. |
| If she loses the vote, we enter uncharted territory. She may seek to renegotiate with the EU but most expect her time in No 10 to end. There could be a general election and/or a new prime minister. | If she loses the vote, we enter uncharted territory. She may seek to renegotiate with the EU but most expect her time in No 10 to end. There could be a general election and/or a new prime minister. |
| Some Tory and Labour MPs hope she will head that off by postponing Brexit day and calling another referendum, something she has consistently ruled out. | Some Tory and Labour MPs hope she will head that off by postponing Brexit day and calling another referendum, something she has consistently ruled out. |