政一B 邱科翰 (2-12)

姓名 : 邱科翰

班級 : 政一B

學號 : 07114248

[標題] Brexit: Theresa May plans 'bold offer' to get support for deal

[內文] Theresa May has said a "new and improved" Brexit deal will be put to MPs when they vote on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill in early June.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mrs May said the bill will be a "bold offer".

Extra protections for workers are expected to be among the proposals, with Mrs May trying to win over the support of some Labour MPs in a final attempt to get her Brexit plan passed.

This comes after the government's talks with Labour over Brexit broke down. 

Mrs May announced this week that MPs will vote on the bill - which would bring the withdrawal agreement into UK law - in the week beginning 3 June. If the bill is not passed, the default position is that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October without a deal.

Labour has said it will vote against the bill while many Conservative MPs also remain opposed, meaning the legislation could fail to clear its first parliamentary hurdle.

But in her Times piece, Mrs May said she will "not be simply asking MPs to think again" on the same deal that they have repeatedly rejected - but on "an improved packaged of measures that I believe can win new support".

The PM said she wanted MPs to consider the new deal "with fresh pairs of eyes - and to give it their support".

Check the small print

With any sales pitch that sounds like it's too good to be true, it's important to check the small print.

And so with Theresa May's promise of a "new and improved" Brexit deal - MPs will be wondering what exactly has changed.

A promise of a further referendum would win plenty of support from Labour but Downing Street's ruled that out.

Changes to the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Northern Ireland backstop, would sway the DUP and many of her own MPs, but the EU won't agree to that.

Additions on workers' rights and environmental protections might be enough to sway a few Labour votes.

And there may be - after a series of votes in Parliament - some movement on the UK's future customs relationship with the EU, but that is as likely to turn off Tory MPs as it is to woo the opposition.

Not for the first time there appear to be no good options for Theresa May.

But a "bold offer" is quite a promise to make, and if her deal has a hope of passing, she will somehow have to live up to it.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said his party would be prepared to support the bill if the government agreed to give the public the final say on the terms of exit in a referendum.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr his party had discussed the "practicalities" of holding another public vote and it was possible before the 31 October deadline.

"We need a proper referendum that will come to a resolution on the issue, with remain on the ballot paper."

'National emergency'

But Change UK spokesman Chuka Umunna said there was "simply not enough time" to hold a referendum before 31 October.

Giving it was "almost certain" the Withdrawal Agreement Bill would be defeated, he said the only option was for the the UK to stop Brexit by revoking Article 50.

"We are facing a national emergency," he told Andrew Marr.

"What would be undemocratic would be imposing a no-deal Brexit on the British people that there is not a mandate for."

A cabinet meeting on Tuesday is to consider plans for a series of "indicative votes" by MPs to establish which proposals could command a majority.

Brexit had been due to take place on 29 March, but the UK was given an extension until 31 October after MPs three times voted down the withdrawal agreement Mrs May had negotiated with the EU.

This prompted negotiations between the Conservatives and Labour aimed at breaking the Brexit impasse, but they collapsed on Friday without an agreement.

The prime minister has also promised to set a timetable for her departure from Downing Street following the vote on her deal.

Before the talks with Labour, the prime minister - whose Conservative Party does not have a majority in the House of Commons - failed to get her deal through three times, by margins of 230, 149 and 58 votes.

The DUP, which supports her government on certain issues, opposes Mrs May's agreement with the EU over its implications for Northern Ireland.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the government should include a “confirmatory” public vote in Brexit legislation to "break the impasse".

Labour's preferred plan is for changes to the government's Brexit deal or an election, but if neither of those are possible, it will support the option of giving the public a say on the deal agreed by Parliament.

Meanwhile, Tory grandee Michael Heseltine has said he will vote for his local Liberal Democrat candidate in the upcoming European parliamentary elections - in protest at the government's stance on Brexit.

Lord Heseltine, also writing in The Sunday Times, called on the Tories to back another referendum on Britain's EU membership in order to avoid what he called "the biggest act of economic self-harm ever undertaken by a democratic government."

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[相關憲法條文]

憲法第 17 條 : 人民有選舉、罷免、創制及複決之權。

憲法第 53 條 : 行政院為國家最高行政機關。

憲法第 58 條 : 行政院設行政院會議，由行政院院長、副院長、各部會首長及不管部會之政務委員組織之，以院長為主席。

行政院院長、各部會首長，須將應行提出於立法院之法律案、預算案、戒嚴案、大赦案、宣戰案、媾和案、條約案及其他重要事項，或涉及各部會共同關係之事項，提出於行政院會議議決之。

憲法第 63 條 : 立法院有議決法律案、預算案、戒嚴案、大赦案、宣戰案、媾和案、條約案及國家其他重要事項之權。

憲法增修條文第 3 條 (節選) : 行政院依左列規定，對立法院負責，憲法第五十七條之規定，停止適用：

一、行政院有向立法院提出施政方針及施政報告之責。立法委員在開會時，有向行政院院長及行政院各部會首長質詢之權。

二、行政院對於立法院決議之法律案、預算案、條約案，如認為有窒礙難行時，得經總統之核可，於該決議案送達行政院十日內，移請立法院覆議。立法院對於行政院移請覆議案，應於送達十五日內作成決議。

如為休會期間，立法院應於七日內自行集會，並於開議十五日內作成決議。覆議案逾期未議決者，原決議失效。覆議時，如經全體立法委員二分之一以上決議維持原案，行政院院長應即接受該決議。

三、立法院得經全體立法委員三分之一以上連署，對行政院院長提出不信任案。不信任案提出七十二小時後，應於四十八小時內以記名投票表決之。如經全體立法委員二分之一以上贊成，行政院院長應於十日內提出辭職，並得同時呈請總統解散立法院；不信任案如未獲通過，一

年內不得對同一行政院院長再提不信任案。 

[相關法條]

The Cabinet Manual, Introduction (節選) : 

9. In the exercise of its legislative powers, Parliament is sovereign. In practice, however, Parliament has chosen to be constrained in various ways – through its Acts, and by elements of European and other international law. 

10. Parliament also scrutinises executive action. Indeed, the government of the day is primarily responsible to Parliament for its day-to-day actions. This function is exercised through a variety of mechanisms, such as the select committee system, Parliamentary questions, oral and written statements, debates in both Houses and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. See Chapter Five for more on Parliament. 

12. Ministers’ powers derive from legislation passed by Parliament, the Royal Prerogative and common law. They are subject to an overarching duty to act in accordance with the law. The courts rule on whether ministerial action is carried out lawfully.

13. The roles of the Prime Minister and Cabinet are governed largely by convention. The Prime Minister is the Sovereign’s principal adviser, chairs Cabinet and has overall responsibility for the organisation of government. Cabinet is the ultimate arbiter of all government policy; decisions made at Cabinet and Cabinet committee level are binding on all members of the Government, save where collective agreement is expressly set aside, and any minister who cannot accept them is expected to resign. 

Chapter 5 (節選) : 

5.11  Scrutiny of the Executive is one of the core functions of Parliament.

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心得評論：

It never gets boring now, does it ? The Brexit drama is on again, and the very country that founded parliamentary democracy would be put to the ultimate test. This time, with the seat of power at stake. While there was no consensus whatsoever, this might just be “the” time. It was believed that Government has backup options at the ready, and the bill would be open to further amendments, which might win over some “soft” opposition and calm the rebels within the prime minister’s own party. Success would mean Britain leaving the EU, failure would spell doom for this cabinet. 

To me, whether this deal survives or not, this ought to be the one with most approval. After three defeats, Ms. May must come and recognise the shortcomings of her minority government, and adopt a milder, yet much more adaptable and flexible way of governing. Pushing the same thing over and over isn’t the best way. Multilateral dialogues, constructive opinion forming, and open discussions is the minimal requirement to make Brexit tick. These essential procedures arrived way too late, which resulted in failure. Taiwan, a semi-presidential country with some aspects of a parliamentary system, must learn from this. That a deal requires both legislation and executive to work together. The mistakes that Ms. May committed is one that is common, yet preventable.