Theresa May has set the scene to take her final shot at pushing her troubled Brexit deal through parliament next week, after a day which left her strategy and her political career teetering on the edge of ruin.
In a statement from Downing Street the prime minister directly blamed the House of Commons for the UK’s failure to leave the EU on 29 March, accusing it of doing “everything possible” to avoid a decision and saying it is now “time for MPs to decide”.
Her statement came hours after European Council president Donald Tusk said the EU would only accept a short extension of the Article 50 period if MPs back Ms May’s deal.
It means that next week, possibly on Monday, she will for the third time attempt to put the agreement she struck with the EU to a vote in the Commons and if it passes the UK will leave sometime before 30 June when necessary legislation is locked in.
If it fails to pass there is a high chance Ms May could quit, after she told MPs earlier in the day she could not be the prime minister to impose a lengthy delay to Brexit.
She was on Wednesday also being pushed by Brexiteers to simply take the UK out of the EU without a deal next Friday, with all possibilities still on the table after two years of negotiations and just eight days before Britain is legally due to drop out of the bloc.
In her televised address Ms May said that it was “a matter of great personal regret” that Brexit will not go ahead on 29 March.
But she then went over the heads of MPs to say: “Of this, I am absolutely sure – you the public have had enough.
“You are 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. I am on your side. It is now time for MPs to decide.”
She then doubled down on an attack she had fired directly at MPs earlier in the day, saying: “So far, parliament has done everything possible to avoid making a choice.
“Motion after motion and amendment after amendment has been tabled without parliament ever deciding what it wants.
“All MPs have been willing to say is what they do not want. I passionately hope MPs will find a way to back the deal I’ve negotiated with the EU, a deal that delivers on the result of the referendum and is the very best deal negotiable.”
Earlier in the day, Mr Tusk said a short extension would be possible, but would be conditional on a positive vote on the withdrawal agreement.
Mr Tusk said that if the deal is not approved by MPs then the EU may hold another emergency summit to decide what to do.
A leaked diplomatic note which emerged earlier showed any extension would be a “binary” choice between a short extension to 23 May, close to Ms May’s suggested leave date, or a long extension until at least the end of the year that would see the UK participate in European parliament elections – something the prime minister said would be unacceptable.
Yet in the Commons earlier in the day, Ms May said: “As prime minister, I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than 30 June.”
She later repeated the statement to drive home the message, leading to intense speculation she would quit if forced into a position where the only way to avoid a no deal was a long delay to Brexit.
Later, Ms May’s spokesman repeatedly failed to give a clear answer over whether her words definitely meant she would resign rather than seek a long extension, finally saying: “What you should infer is her determination to get this over the line.”
In a major obstacle to her strategy Commons speaker John Bercow has warned he will not even allow a third “meaningful vote” unless the proposal before MPs has “significantly changed”.
The prime minister spent the evening before her statement meeting MPs in a bid to persuade them to get behind her deal, if Mr Bercow allows the crucial vote to go ahead next week.
Many Conservatives were pushing her to simply let the UK drop out of the EU without a deal on 29 March if her plans fail to gain approval.
Nigel Evans MP said: “A lot of us believe we should just leave a week Friday anyway.”
