On Wednesday 27 March, backbench MPs will take control of parliamentary business after they passed the Letwin amendment on Monday evening.
The Letwin amendment allows MPs to hold a series of “indicative votes” this evening to discover what kind of Brexit deal can command a majority in the House of Commons.
Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, will choose which of the various Brexit options MPs will vote on. After a three- or four-hour debate, MPs will then vote at around 7pm using special ballot papers.
They will have 30 minutes to vote, in private, supporting as many of the options as they like. The results will be announced sometime after 9pm and how MPs voted will be made public later this evening.
There are sixteen options which have been submitted and the Speaker is expected to choose between six and ten.
MPs will also have to vote this evening on whether to change the date that the UK leaves the EU by extending the Article 50 process as agreed at last weeks EU Council meeting. This vote will take place at around 7.30pm.
Timeline for this afternoon and evening:
Between 1 pm & 2 pm: MPs take control of the order paper and decide how tonight’s votes will work.
Approximately 3.30 pm: Commons Speaker John Bercow announces which Brexit options have been selected for votes and the debate begins.
Approximately 7 pm: MPs vote on different Brexit options, in private, on special ballots.
Approximately 7.30 pm: MPs debate whether to extend the Article 50 deadline to April 12, as agreed at last week’s EU Council meeting. Voting at 9 pm.
Approximately 9.15 pm: The Speaker announces the results of the Article 50 extension, and then the result of indicative votes.
Follow @Brown_OConnor on Twitter to keep up to date with the day’s events as they unfold.
