British Prime Minister Theresa May set to unveil Brexit “plan B”

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British Prime Minister Theresa May walks past the EU flagBritish Prime Minister Theresa May walks past the EU flag at the conclusion of an EU summit in Brussels, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

British Prime Minister Theresa May has a plan for the future of the U.K. – Ireland border and the embattled leader will reveal her Brexit “plan-B” to Parliament Monday.
CGTN’s Mariam Zaidi reports from London.

Follow Mariam Zaidi on Twitter @zaidi_mariam

Theresa May will unveil plans on Monday to offer a bilateral treaty to Ireland, and thereby removing the controversial Irish backstop – the mechanism to avoid a hard border, that keeps Northern Ireland in regulatory alignment with the European Union in the event of a no deal Brexit.

A bilateral treaty with Ireland. but that is not exactly how the EU does business

A tweet from the Irish Deputy PM Simon Coveney seems to have shot that idea down. He said Ireland is committed to the entire Withdrawal agreement, including the backstop.

But murmurs also suggest that Theresa May would not be the only one busy at parliament this week. Rebel MEPs are attempting to block a NO Deal Brexit and possibly even suspend Article 50 – to stop the UK crashing out without a deal. Something the UK’s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox is warning against.

“The government can’t rule out a no deal because there can only be a no-deal if we get a deal,” Fox said. “And that means getting something through the House of Commons and if something doesn’t go through the House of Commons, there can’t be a deal. That’s not within the government’s control, that’s within the control of our MPs.”

But fear not, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered some respite to the UK’s internal Brexit chaos. She won’t let the UK leave without a deal.

“I will work until the very last day to get a solution with a deal for Britain’s exit from the EU and I will work towards having the best relationship,” Merkel said.

But with the clock running down to Brexit, and parliament divided, it begs the question: is there any chance that UK parliamentarians will deliver on the vote by the people to leave the European Union and on March 29?