Tories tell MEPs to consider election run if Brexit deal fails

Party’s leader in European parliament says it must be prepared to field candidates

Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent
Sat 16 Mar 2019 07.00 GMT

The Conservative party has contacted all its MEPs to ask them to consider running for election in May if the prime minister’s Brexit deal is defeated on Tuesday.

Ashley Fox, the party’s leader in the European parliament, contacted MEPs to ask them to think about their options in the event that Theresa May’s deal fails again.

“May I ask you to reflect over the weekend whether you would wish to stand as a Conservative candidate. I will speak with you all individually after the MV3 [meaningful vote 3) next week,” he said in a WhatsApp message to MEPs after MPs voted overwhelmingly to delay Brexit on Thursday night.

He said he hoped May would get the deal approved but the party needed to be prepared to field candidates for the European elections, due to be held between 23 and 26 May.

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No long Brexit delay without election of British MEPs, says leaked paper

Britain forfeits any extension longer than three months if it does not contest EU elections

Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Fri 15 Mar 2019 20.34 GMT

Brussels will have to terminate the UK’s extended membership of the European Union on 1 July if elections for British MEPs have not been held, a leaked legal document reveals.

A three-month delay to Brexit beyond 29 March will not carry any conditions, but anything longer than that requires Britain to have taken part in European parliamentary elections, ambassadors have been told.

EU law does not stand in the way of multiple extensions to the UK’s membership if requested, the document says. But if elections had not been held in May, and the UK subsequently sought to stay on as a member state to avoid a no-deal Brexit, for example, the EU would be bound to reject a request, the document seen by the Guardian says.

“No extension should be granted beyond 1 July unless the European parliament elections are held at the mandatory date”, the legal opinion shared among ambassadors on Friday says.

The EU would “cease being able to operate in a secure legal context” should there be an extension beyond 1 July and British MEPs had not been elected, it warns.

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