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Brexit news: Theresa May tells MPs to ‘get on with it’ as she turns up pressure on parliament to force through deal

See how The Independent covered the day's political events 

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
,Benjamin Kentish,Jon Sharman
Wednesday 20 March 2019 22:02 GMT
Comments
Brexit: Theresa May puts blame for what she has called a national 'crisis' on MPs

Theresa May has risked the anger of MPs after she blamed them for forcing her to ask the EU for a "short delay" to Brexit.

In a letter to European Council president Donald Tusk, the prime minister asked for a three-month extension to Article 50 negotiation process, pushing the scheduled date to leave the EU from 29 March to 30 June.

However Mr Tusk put his foot down, saying he would grant the delay but only if MPs backed Ms May's Brexit deal.

Some hours later Ms May used a televised address to accuse the Commons of having tried everything to avoid making a decision on whether it wanted to leave the block with a deal, crash out without one or not leave at all.

From Downing Street she told voters she was "on your side", adding that she believed "You're tired of the infighting, you're tired of the political games and the arcane procedural rows, tired of MPs talking about nothing else but Brexit when you have real concerns about our children's schools, our National Health Service, knife crime."

"You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and done with. I agree," she said.

In response the PM was accused of being "toxic" and even of risking her colleagues' safety.

It meant that Ms May must now find a way of putting her deal before parliament for the third time, with no clear evidence that MPs will back it after twice voting it down by crushing margins.

If the deal fails again there is a significant chance she could resign, having told MPs earlier in the day she could not be the leader to impose a lengthy delay to Brexit.

See below how we covered the day's events live

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Welcome to The Independent's coverage of the day's political events 

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:09
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Asked about indications from Downing Street that Theresa May will request a short extension of only a few months, Mr Juncker told German radio station DRF:

Those months would have to produce, as an end result, an agreement from the British Parliament to the (Agreement) text which is before them.

If that doesn't happen, and if Great Britain does not leave at the end of March, then we are, I am sorry to say, in the hands of God. And I think even God sometimes reaches a limit to his patience."

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:31
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 Jean-Claude Juncker added that he had not received Ms May's letter but was hoping for "clarity" from the UK on the way forward.

We will probably have to meet again next week, because Mrs May has not got agreement for anything either in her Cabinet or her Parliament.

As long as we don't know what Great Britain will say Yes to, we can't come to a resolution."

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:34
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Education Secretary Damian Hinds has said a shorter rather than longer extension to Article 50 is the right option for the prime minister to request.

Speaking on the BBC Today programme, he said:

I don't see how a long delay gives certainty, actually, we've had a long time already. Unless and until a deal is finalised there remains the prospect, the risk, of no deal.

In terms of timing there has already been two-plus years to do this and I think people are a bit tired of waiting for Parliament to get our act together and get the deal passed."

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:35
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Here is a quick look at our top story - Downing Street has confirmed that Theresa May will write to EU chiefs requesting a "short" delay to Brexit. 

Read the report from The Independent's Ashley Cowburn: 

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:37
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The EU has however said Britain cannot delay Brexit without a clear plan for what happens next, indicating only an election, a new referendum or major compromise on Theresa May's red lines will suffice.

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:39
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Anna Soubry, the former Tory MP who now sits with the Independent Group, has described the current situation as a "crisis". 

Speaking on the BBC Today programme she said: '"What happened yesterday was the prime minister made the case in cabinet for a long extension and it’s quite obvious why she has now changed her mind.

…She has only changed her mind, because yet again she has put the interests of her party and the calls from the hard right-wing Brexiteers in her party over and beyond her duty of the national interest."

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:44
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Appearing on LBC Radio, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said the Prime Minister is "extremely frustrated" but "remains determined to take us out of the EU" and hopes to do so without participating in EU elections.

"It's absolutely essential we're out of the EU before the European elections. It would be extraordinary for the people who voted to leave the EU to find us fielding candidates for these next elections...

She's absolutely working her socks off to get to that point, so, in seeking a short extension, she and her Cabinet will be determined to get further progress on the Meaningful Vote so we can get her deal voted through in Parliament."

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:50
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Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:50
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Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has warned that "any delay" will cause problems for Conservative local election prospects in May.

The Chingford and Woodford Green MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is real, real resistance and concern in the Conservative Party, not just in Parliament but on a much wider spectrum around the country in the run-up to the May elections.

"This will without question cannon into the May elections and cause real issues and concerns on the doorstep.

"Any delay creates a bow wave of problems, not just for the Government here but for the governing party and, frankly, for all those people who voted to leave thinking ... we would leave on 29 March."

Shehab.Khan20 March 2019 08:56

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