Govt must not submit 'same proposition' to Brexit deal rejected last week - Speaker

The British government is likely to need to win changes to its Brexit deal with the European Union in order to be allowed to put it to a further vote in parliament, the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said on Monday. Bercow earlier said the government must not submit "the same proposition or substantially the same proposition" to the Brexit deal which was rejected last week.

Asked by a lawmaker whether further changes to the deal itself would be needed, Bercow said, "in all likelihood, the answer ... is yes", adding that a change in opinion would not constitute a change in the deal on offer. "Fundamentally, for something to be different, it has to be by definition, fundamentally different. Not different in terms of wording, but difference in terms of substance and this is in the context of negotiation with others outside the United Kingdom," he said.