Invitation Only Research Event
Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE
Matthew O’Toole, Chief Press Officer for Europe and economic affairs, UK Prime Minister’s Office (2015-2017)
Chair: Thomas Raines, Head, Europe Programme, Chatham House
With the EU withdrawal agreement on the table, the UK government will hope that Brexit can move decisively past withdrawal, and to the negotiation of the future relationship. However, the deal has attracted criticism from across the political spectrum and triggered a revolt within the Conservative Party which threatens to challenge the prime minister’s position. The parliamentary arithmetic remains very challenging for the government while the prospect of the agreement being rejected enhances the possibility of both no deal and no Brexit.
In this session, the speaker will discuss the prospects of getting the withdrawal agreement through Parliament. He will also outline the possible next steps if the deal fails to pass and discuss what effect the internal politics of the UK Conservative Party, as well as within Parliament more generally, might have on the outcome.