Despite the serious prospect of losing a vote on the issue in the Commons, No 10 says setting a Brexit date will provide some certaintyDowning Street has slapped down suggestions that the government is preparing to drop its attempt to fix the date of Brexit as 29 March 2019, despite the serious prospect of losing a vote on the issue in the Commons. And on Friday a cross-bench committee of MPs sharply criticised the plan, warning that such a tactic would backfire. “What the amendment does is provide certainty over our position that we are leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. “But ministers are now proposing to remove from the [withdrawal] bill the power to set different exit days for different purposes and replace it with a single exit day. Half the Tories on the committee voted with its Labour chairman and other parties in calling for a rethink.

Source: The Guardian November 17, 2017 11:41 UTC