Brexit: Theresa May to meet EU leaders to ask for a delay until 30 June

9 April 2019

Prime Minister Theresa May will travel to Berlin and Paris on 9 April to urge the German and French leaders to agree to a delay to Brexit.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April but MPs haven't been able to agree on how that should happen.

Mrs May is hoping EU leaders will support her request for a delay until 30 June.

Talks are also expected to continue between government and Labour politicians in an attempt to find a Brexit deal that the majority of MPs agree with.

More on Brexit

Brexit: MPs meet to discuss way forward

Why is the Irish border a Brexit issue?

What is Brexit?

What has happened this week?

On 8 April evening, Parliament passed a bill brought by Labour MP Yvette Cooper, which aims to force the prime minister to request a Brexit extension - rather than leave the EU without a deal on 12 April.

The government will meet today to approve or reject the PM's request to the EU to delay Brexit until 30 June.

But the final decision on an extension lies with the EU. And the leaders of all the 27 other EU countries have to agree to decide whether to grant or reject an extension.

What could happen after this?

Currently, EU leaders are due to have a big meeting on 10 April at which they will discuss the UK's future.

If the EU refuses to agree to what the UK has asked for, then two of the main options would be for the UK to cancel Brexit or to leave the EU with no deal in place, neither of which the government wants to do.

EPA/UK PARLIAMENTARY RECORDING UNIT

Members of Parliament (MPs) have been voting in the House of Commons over the past few weeks and have rejected Theresa May's Brexit deal

The options that people are talking about at the moment are:

Leave with no deal - Nobody wants this to happen, but it is currently what is due to happen on 12 April unless MPs vote for, and EU leaders agree to, something else happening.
Leave the EU as per Mrs May's original Brexit deal - Mrs May's original Brexit deal has also not been permanently ruled out. If she cannot agree a compromise with Mr Corbyn and MPs are unable to decide on an alternative, it is still an option.
Try to renegotiate another deal - This could take a considerable amount of time and would likely require a more significant delay to Brexit. Not only that, but it would mean the UK would have to take part in the European Parliament elections in May, which the government doesn't want to do.
A second referendum - Experts at the University College London suggest this could take a minimum of 22 weeks to make happen.
A general election could be called - For this to happen, two-thirds of all MPs would need to agree to it.
No confidence vote - The Labour Party could formally declare that it does not have confidence in the prime minister, which could affect who takes the lead with Brexit, but a new prime minister would face the same problems that Mrs May currently faces.
Brexit could be cancelled - The government is very committed to Brexit, so it is likely that there would need to another referendum or a change of government before this happened.