Theresa May, the UK Prime Minister, has held a conference call with her cabinet ministers in an attempt to get fresh backing for her Brexit deal, before it is again voted on in Parliament next week.
The PM is due to outline her latest EU withdrawal plan when she updates the House of Commons later today.
Why is the PM conference calling her cabinet?
The PM is really on the ropes right now – not only did her proposed EU withdrawal deal suffer the biggest ever defeat seen in Parliament, she got through a vote of no confidence by the narrowest of margins – and she desperately needs to try and drum up as much support as possible before she puts an amended plan to the House of Commons next Tuesday.
A conference call offers a simple way to meet up people, especially outside of normal business hours or at times when not everyone can be in the same place at the same time.
So, calling a conference call was the best way for the PM to call her cabinet together so she could discuss her plans with everyone in attendance.
What will the PM do next?
The PM has asked for cross-party collaboration to help get a deal sorted that will satisfy both leavers and the EU. The trouble is, those MPs who have met with her have been left exasperated by the fact she seems unwilling to budge on the terms of her current deal, particularly where the issue of a no-deal Brexit is concerned – something that all but the hardest Brexiteers see as absolutely catastrophic for the UK economy.
Critics suggest the the PM is just playing for time and her call for cross-party collaboration is nothing more than lip service. She may even present the same deal to Parliament next week, hoping for more support as the clock ticks down towards leaving with no deal.
What happens next?
After her deal was roundly rejected in the Commons, the PM now has to come up with an alternative deal that will win enough support among MPs to be passed. If not, then the UK is in serious danger of leaving the EU without any deal in place, unless Article 50 can be extended.
To find out what could happen next, check out Brexit – what next?
How to make a conference call
You can set up a conference call in three simple steps:
- Set up your Conference callChoose a date/time of your conference call.
- Invite participants to the callSend all participants an invitation with your PIN, date/time and dial-in number(s).
- Start your callAt the agreed time, all participants dial in and enter your PIN to join your conference call.
For more tips, check out How to make a conference call – a complete guide to teleconferencing
