Last night the House of Commons voted by 329 votes to 302 in favour of an amendment tabled by Conservative backbench MP Oliver Letwin along with members of the opposition parties which clears space on Wednesday for a series of indicative votes in the House of Commons (HoC) designed to test what Brexit plans may command a majority.

In other developments, the Prime Minister stated yesterday (25 March) that the statutory instrument needed to change the meaning of exit date in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA 2018) so as to reflect the extension of the Article 50 process would be put before the HoC on Wednesday (27 March). HM Treasury has published the draft statutory instrument.

The statutory instrument is to be made under section 20(4) of the EUWA 2018. It is subject to the draft affirmative procedure and needs to be actively approved in both Houses of Parliament.

Last week the HoC library issued a research paper concerning how the reference to exit day could be changed. The Hansard Society has also published its views on the procedural steps for the statutory instrument and considered the possibility, which it considers unlikely, of it failing in either House.