AG百家乐在线官网

Speaker John Bercow has warned Theresa May he will veto a third vote on her Brexit deal unless it is "substantially" different from the previous two versions.

He cited a more than 400-year-old Commons rule that blocks parliament being forced to vote on the same issue repeatedly in a short space of time.

Mrs May suffered the largest-ever parliamentary defeat on her EU divorce deal in January, losing by 230 votes.

She went to Brussels to receive new legal assurances but then suffered another heavy loss on Tuesday last week, losing by 149 votes.

Mr Bercow announced on Monday that Brexiteer and Remainer MPs had asked him to adjudicate on the rule from the parliamentary rulebook known as "Erskine May".

He cited historical precedents by the speaker and said it had not been used since 1920 because of "general compliance with it".

But he warned: "What the government cannot legitimately do is to resubmit to the house the same proposition or substantially the same proposition as that of last week.

"This ruling should not be regarded as my last word on the subject.

"It is simply meant to indicate the test which the government must meet in order for me to rule that a third meaningful vote can legitimately be held in this parliamentary session."

Parliamentary sessions usually run for 12 months, but this current one has gone on for longer and will expire in the summer.

Commons Brexit committee chairman Hilary Benn asked whether there would have to be "new political agreement" for the government to bring its deal back before MPs.

Mr Bercow replied that "in all likelihood" this would be needed.

The change must be "not different in terms of wording but different in terms of substance" and "this is in the context of a negotiation with others outside the UK", he told MPs.

Mr Bercow was challenged on the rule, which dates back to 1604, and urged to be a "modern speaker for modern times".

But he insisted he was a "progressive changemaker" - not a "stickler for tradition" - and his passion for modernisation "depends on the circumstances".

Downing Street said there was no forewarning of the speaker's announcement.

A spokesperson said: "We note the Speaker's statement. This is something that requires proper consideration."

Mrs May tabled a bid to delay Brexit from 29 March to 30 June if her deal was passed by Wednesday 20 March.

It was passed in parliament with the support of Labour and opposition parties, as the Conservatives split.

Number 10 has not confirmed yet whether it will put Mrs May's deal to a vote before an EU Council summit on Thursday.