On 23rd June 2016, UK citizens went to the polls in a referendum that asked voters to decide between two options: ‘Leave the European Union’ or ‘Remain a member of the European Union’.
Unless you’ve been avoiding all news media for the last two and a half years, you’re probably aware that the result was 52% in favour of leaving.
With Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty triggered on 29th March 2017, and a two year countdown process begun, Britain is due to leave the EU at 11pm on 29th March 2019.
Attention now turns to Westminster and Parliament…
What is the ‘meaningful vote’?
The ‘meaningful vote’ requires that the agreement under which the UK leaves the European Union and the subsequent future trading relationship are approved by Parliament.
This means that in order for the withdrawal plan that the Prime Minister has brokered with Brussels to proceed, MPs have to approve it with a majority vote. This approval by Parliament was made a legal requirement in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
Wasn’t this ‘meaningful vote’ scheduled for before Christmas?
Yes, originally the vote was expected to happen on Tuesday 15th December 2018, but the vote was postponed by the Government during the debate. This was to allow them time to try to secure extra assurances from the European Union, especially on the ‘Irish backstop’ arrangement.
When will the ‘meaningful’ vote take place?
The rescheduled ‘meaningful vote’ on Theresa’s May’s Brexit deal will take place on Tuesday 15th January 2019. Although there is no exact time set for the vote, it is expected that the vote will take place sometime between 7pm and 9pm, with the result shortly afterwards.
Will the ‘meaningful vote’ and the the result be on TV and available to stream?
One of the most important moments in the Brexit process so far, broadcasters are expected to be following the developments in Parliament extremely closely.
To watch events in Parliament live, the BBC News Channel and Sky News will both be screening rolling coverage throughout the evening. Both channels can also be live streamed in the UK.
The main Channel 4 News (7pm-8pm) could possibly still be on air when the result comes through, and the BBC and ITV News at 10pm on Tuesday evening are likely to be dedicated to the result of the vote, reaction and analysis. There’s also Newsnight at 10.30pm on BBC2, which will surely be dedicated to the result.
There is also the possibility of extended news and special programming on both BBC News and ITV dependent on the result and the immediate fallout. Check back here for any last minute schedule changes.
from Radio Times http://bit.ly/2HaDZ0l
