LONDON — British lawmakers pressured the Conservative government Wednesday to give Parliament a vote on the negotiating terms for the U.K.’s exit from the European Union, as uncertainty about what kind of deal the U.K. is seeking with the EU rattles business leaders and currency markets.
Government ministers, however, insisted it would not be wise to give too much away while the United Kingdom’s stance is still being worked out.
The opposition Labor Party forced a parliamentary debate and vote on a motion calling for lawmakers “properly to scrutinize” the U.K.’s position. Labor spokesman Keir Starmer agreed that Britons had voted June 23 to quit the 28-nation bloc but said there was no consensus on the terms.
“That question was not on the ballot paper,” Starmer said.
“It’s frankly astonishing that the government proposes to devise the negotiating terms of our exit from the EU, then to negotiate and then to reach a deal without a vote in this House,” he added.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty — triggering two years of official exit talks — by March 31, but she has declined to reveal details of the U.K.’s negotiating hand.
Opposition lawmakers — and some from May’s Conservative Party — say Parliament should be given a role in approving the terms. They worry the government has decided to seek a “hard Brexit,” which means leaving the bloc’s single market of 500 million consumers in order to exercise more control over immigration.
In a bid to head off a Conservative revolt, May promised that lawmakers would get a say, as long as it “does not undermine the negotiating position of the government.”
The government’s amendment promising lawmakers a voice, if not a vote, helped secure support for the Labor Party’s motion, which passed unopposed. It is not binding on the government.