Crunch Days

This page gathers together all the calls for action in the week running up to 29 March.

Watch as it happens here: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Commons

Parliamentary calendar here: https://calendar.parliament.uk/calendar/Commons/All/2019/4/02/Daily

Order Paper for today!

Guidance about SODEM from Polly now incorporated in the UKPEN campaign stub for Sodem, see the UKPEN campaigns page here.

Tuesday 2 April - Cabinet thrashings about

Meanwhile From the Guardian Online (Thanks Grahame P):

The Labour MP Yvette Cooper has now published the text of her EU (withdrawal) (no 5) bill (see 12.20pm) - her attempt to legislate to force Theresa May to request an extension to article 50. Here is the plan.

• Cooper and her allies plan to use tomorrow, which has been set aside for a third day of Oliver Letwin backbench business, not government business, to pass another business motion setting aside Thursday for a debate on Cooper’s bill. The text of that motion will be out tomorrow. If it passes ...
• MPs would debate all stages of the Cooper bill on Thursday.
• MPs would also hold more indicative votes on Thursday.
• The bill would then go to the House of Lords, where a majority of peers has already agreed in principle that a Brexit bill coming from the Commons should be considered as soon as possible.

The Cooper bill would require the PM to come forward with a plan to extend article 50 for MPs to vote on. The PM would be able to choose how long the extension should be. And, if the EU were to offer an alternative length for an extension, that would have to come back for a vote.

Further Infacts article about the Cooper-Letwin work

Thursday 4 April

10:30 on Thursday 4 April, Guardian Online:

“A motion has been tabled in the House of Lords for Yvette Cooper’s bill to be rushed through the second chamber in a single day, allowing it to become law by the end of today, the Press Association reports. The move was put forward by Labour’s deputy leader in the Lords, Lady Hayter of Kentish Town. But it was countered by several amendments from Conservative peers demanding the bill should be dealt with in the normal way, which would effectively delay its passage beyond next week’s EU summit.”

Musical Monday 8 April

“ The tuba was a valuable element in the impression you made: no chance of gathering a cornet and a baritone as well another time? The arrival, all singing Ilkley Moor, which I saw from my window, with flags flying, was also superb! Another such demonstration, with others from elsewhere, would make a further positive impression.

One of the comments I hear around the Palace of Westminster is the sharp contrast between the cheerfulness of the anti-Brexit demonstrators and the sour threatening style of the (smaller numbers of) pro-Brexiters. That affects MPs’ and peers’ responses”

William Wallace

(Rt.Hon. Lord Wallace of Saltaire)