Hard-line Pro-Leave Conservative MPs are now actively pushing for a no-deal Brexit to occur on 29th March, in an approach dubbed Clean Brexit.
Pro-Leave MPs, many of whom submitted letters to trigger the vote of no-confidence in Theresa May being held later today, argue that as the EU is not moving on key issues with the Brexit withdrawal agreement, the only option is to intentionally allow a no-deal situation to occur.
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“If there is “no room for renegotiation” then we leave without a deal and do not pay the EU £39 billion. #CleanBrexit,” tweeted Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset and a key voice in the movement to initiate a no-confidence vote in Theresa May.
Clean Brexit: When “no deal is better than a bad deal”
The Clean Brexit approach is being pushed because a growing number of hard-line Leave campaigners regard the compromise-focused Brexit withdrawal agreement to be unsatisfactory. This is for a myriad of reasons, but is most notably because it keeps the UK paying into the EU and subject to EU law for an undetermined period of time.
“She was dead right: no deal is better than a bad deal,” said Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate, in an interview with the BBC.
He argued that for a no-deal situation to occur, the UK would simply opt not to add further legislation on Brexit.
“Parliament has already legislated for us to leave the European Union on the 29th March,” he said.
“The law of the land is taking us to the 29th March to leave the European Union. There is at the moment no agreement with the European Union, and the European Union has made it perfectly clear that what’s on offer isn’t changing and is not getting any better.
“So therefore we are leaving as long as the law doesn’t change. Whoever heads the government has a critical role in whether they are going to be complicit in changing the law and altering the path to the 29th March.”
