U.K. Government Cranks Up No-Deal Planning: Brexit Update

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Theresa May is battling to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, and the debate kicks off later today.

Tories Backing May in Contempt Debate (2:40 p.m.)

At least on one issue, May still seems to have the support of her members of Parliament. Both wings of the Tory party are rowing in behind her on the contempt debate, with Brexit opponent Dominic Grieve and Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg both saying they’ll vote with the government.

That gives the prime minister a fighting chance -- but not more than that. Remember, May has no majority, and the Democratic Unionist Party are against her on this one, so even if every Tory votes with her, she’s got no guarantee of winning. This looks like it will come down to who can get their vote out.

Starmer Says Government in ‘Contempt’ (1:10 p.m.)

Labour’s Keir Starmer formally proposed the motion that the government is guilty of being in “contempt of Parliament.” He said ministers are willfully refusing an order from the House of Commons to publish the government’s full internal legal advice on the Brexit deal May struck with the European Union.

“The government is refusing to comply with that order,” Starmer said. “That is contempt of Parliament.”

Starmer’s argument spells trouble for May, not least because he has all the main opposition parties lined up behind him -- and even Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May’s minority government.

Andrea Leadsom, a Cabinet minister, defended the government. She said Parliament has long recognized that “information cannot always be disclosed” and sometimes must be held back because publishing it wouldn’t be in the public interest. She’s proposing an amendment to Starmer’s motion, which would buy the government some time.

Officials suggested earlier that this debate could go on until 7 p.m. with a vote to settle the issue expected at the end. Only once this is dealt with will May get to open the five days of debate on her Brexit deal.

Government Steps Up No-Deal Planning (12:20 p.m.)

British businesses will get detailed instructions on how to import and export if there’s no Brexit deal, as the government ramps up its preparations. The government is writing to 145,000 businesses that trade only within the European Union, setting out what they need to do immediately, including registering as an “economic operator.’’

For many smaller businesses, this will be the first taste of the kind of work they’re going to need to start doing from next March if there’s no deal.

The government has held off from giving this kind of advice earlier, partly because ministers worried about being accused of fear-mongering. But it could help to sway some members of Parliament to back May’s deal if businesses start leaning on them. And if the deal doesn’t go through, then No Deal becomes a distinct possibility, and businesses do need to prepare.

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