Brexit: Speaker selects Brady and Cooper amendments to be voted on by MPs - Politics live

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. May says she wants a mandate to demand something unspecified in new negotiations

And, third, there must be changes to the backstop, she says.
...
For reference, here is the text of the Brady amendment.

At end, add “and requires the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border; supports leaving the European Union with a deal and would therefore support the withdrawal agreement subject to this change.”.

She says achieving this change will require a “significant and legally-binding change to the withdrawal agreement”.

This will not be easy, she says. But she says she thinks it can be achieved with “a mandate from this House”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/jan/29/brexit-vote-commons-latest-news-developments-liam-fox-says-may-now-saying-withdrawal-deal-text-must-be-rewritten-politics-live?page=with:block-5c50615be4b0a585f6e88b7d#block-5c50615be4b0a585f6e88b7d

So she thinks that a vote for nothing more concrete than 'alternative arrangements' gives her a 'mandate' for "significant and legally-binding change" to what she negotiated a few months earlier and said was the only option other than a 'no deal' Brexit.

She said there was "limited appetite" in the EU for reopening negotiations. The EU has since politely told her where to stick her "legally-binding change":

But as the prime minister called on MPs to send a message to Brussels, EU officials disclosed that a statement was being prepared that would immediately close off the possibility of opening up an agreement that had already been negotiated and agreed over the last 20 months.

“The EU27 and the commission have already prepared a reaction in case the Brady amendment passes this evening saying they will not renegotiate the withdrawal agreement,” an official told Bloomberg.

An EU official also confirmed to the Guardian that such a response could be expected.

It is understood that during a phone call with the prime minister on Tuesday afternoon, the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said the EU would not budge on its refusal to renegotiate.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/29/eu-rule-out-brexit-renegotiation-brady-amendment-pass