Politics Explained: What’s happening this week in Brexit – and when are the EU elections?

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
Sunday 19 May 2019 16:20 BST
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(Reuters)

This week millions of citizens across the European Union will participate in a democratic exercise Theresa May never wanted Britain to take part in – the European elections.

In the UK and the Netherlands, voters will head to the polls on Thursday, but results will not filter through until the late hours of Sunday evening or Monday morning.

This is due to the fact there a different days of voting across the member states. Latvia, Malta and Slovakia will elect their MEPs on Saturday, for example, while voters in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Italy will head to the polling booths on Sunday.

It is widely expected – through multiple voting intention polls – that Ms May's Conservative Party will be thrashed by the newly-formed Brexit Party under the stewardship of Nigel Farage. The party has been consistently polling in first place for the last week.

Labour is also bracing for potential loses inflicted by the Liberal Democrats, who managed to leapfrog Jeremy Corbyn into second place in a poll on Friday with their unequivocal anti-Brexit message.

So, in a last-ditch attempt to get their MEPs elected, expect the political parties to be heading out of Westminster next week to join the campaign trail ahead of the 23 May poll.

Before then, however, Ms May will convene a meeting of her cabinet on Tuesday to discuss changes to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill – or "WAB" as it is referred to in Whitehall – including a number of issues discussed with Labour in the failed cross-party talks, including workers' rights.

She pledged on Tuesday to bring this legislation to the Commons during the first week of June, and told the executive of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers she will outline her departure timetable from Downing Street should she lose the vote.

Now that cross-party talks with Labour have collapsed, this really is Ms May's last chance of securing Brexit while still the resident of No 10, as many believe it will be her last major move as prime minister.

She is also expected to deliver a speech this week on the withdrawal agreement, and a government source said she intends to "make a bold offer that will allow parliament to back the the bill, get the deal over line – and deliver Brexit."

But the vast majority of people in Westminster believe Ms May is heading for yet another crushing defeat when she brings the bill to the Commons, given the continued opposition of Labour's frontbench, hardline Conservative Brexiteers, and the Democratic Unionist Party.

Unless the prime minister does give way to major concessions in the coming days – including the possibility of a second referendum – then it appears this government source is being wildly optimistic.

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