Will Yvette Cooper’s bill really prevent a no-deal Brexit?

Brexit Explained: If normal levels of trust in public life still held, and circumstances were less pressured, the Cooper bill should be entirely unnecessary

A group of backbench members of parliament led by Yvette Cooper, Oliver Letwin and Hilary Benn, are attempting to make a law that would effectively rule out a “no deal” Brexit.

As the current Brexit legislation stands, the UK will leave the EU on 12 April, without a deal if none has been agreed in the meantime.

The Cooper bill would force the prime minister to extend Article 50 and enable MPs to specify their own preferred date for the end of the process.