Farage: If Parliament Delays Brexit Once, It Will Delay ‘Again and Again’

Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage has warned that if Parliament votes to extend Article 50, Brexit will be delayed “again and again.”

Mr Farage warned that Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to allow MPs to vote to extend Article 50 — should her “worst deal in history” Withdrawal Agreement be voted down a second time on March 12th — was a “ludicrous suggestion.”

“…there would be no-one to negotiate with during this period,” he wrote in The Telegraph, explaining, “Brussels closes down in April as the European elections campaign begins. After that, the elite European Commission will be replaced. If we extend once, we will extend again and again.

“Voters’ fury in this scenario should be not underestimated.”

On Tuesday, Mrs May caved to Remainer Cabinet member demands and will give the pro-EU-dominated Parliament the option of voting not just to extend Article 50 but to take a ‘no-deal,’ clean Brexit — where the country leaves the EU without having to pay a divorce bill or staying aligned to the bloc during a near-two year transition period — off the table, despite both being the legal default should a deal not be agreed by Brexit day on March 29th.

Writing that “the great Brexit betrayal” is “nearly complete,” Mr Farage warned that “Theresa May’s endless assertions that she will deliver the Brexit the people voted for is beginning to look as if it was a deceit from the start.”

“The only way Brexit can now be delivered, and faith kept in our democratic system, is to leave on March 29 on WTO terms,” Mr Farage added, explaining that Article 24 of the GATT Treaty could be used “with both the consent of us and the EU” for a minimum of two years “with no tariffs and quotas during which a trade deal could be concluded.”

“More importantly, we would be outside the EU, the single market and the customs union.”

On Wednesday evening, the House of Commons is expected to debate a statement on the Government’s progress on Brexit, and Speaker John Bercow is expected to announce after Prime Minister’s Questions which amendments will be tabled for voting.

One amendment, the cross-party Cooper-Letwin amendment, seeks to force Theresa May to extend Article 50, while another from the Independent Group of MPs — some dozen Remainers, most of whom resigned from the Labour Party last week — will be pushing an amendment calling for a second referendum.

If any of the amendments are approved by votes, they could exert pressure on the prime minister to deliver an even softer Brexit than she has pledged, or stop the process altogether. However, the Government is not legally bound to follow any of the changes.