[Julia Chatterley, Cnn:] Hello and welcome to this special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Julia Chatterley. Outside Britain's Houses of Parliament here in London where there remains no consensus on how to move forward on Brexit.
[Cyril Vanier, Cnn:] And I'm Cyril Vanier here at the CNN center in Atlanta. As Boeing unveils overhaul for its troubled 737 Max planes.
[Chatterley:] It's the day after an eventful 24 hours here in Westminster. There were hopes that Wednesday might provide some clarity, even perhaps some unity. But it ended in more confusion and division. Prime Minister Theresa May offered to resign if her party backs her twice-defeated Brexit deal before lawmakers failed to agree on an alternative option. They had a menu of eight different alternatives. They included giving voters a second referendum on EU membership and leaving the EU without a deal in place.
[John Bercow, Speaker, U.k. House Of Commons:] In respect of Mr. Baron's motion B, Brexit's no-deal, the ayes were 160, the nos were 400. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. So the nos have it. Order. Order.
[Chatterley:] Eight nos there if you lost count. So the mother of Parliament is looking weary and many wonder if she is up to the job of taking Britain out of the EU. The leader of the House of Commons says the Brexit debate will continue on Friday. So there is plenty for to us unpack but no resolution of course. We'll get the reaction from Europe with Erin McLaughlin who is in Brussels for us right now. But first Bianca Nobilo joins me here in Westminster. Bianca, just in the last few minutes perhaps a suggestion that the way to get a vote past is breaking down discussion about the current arrangement and getting the U.K. out of the EU with the future relationship. Talk us through how this might happen and work.
[Bianca Nobilo, Cnn Correspondent:] At the moment, the Prime Minister's deal is two parts. And it comes as a package. You have the Withdrawal Agreement which is essentially the divorce deal. That covers the amount of money that the U.K. is paying the EU for leaving. It covers the transition period and various other loose ends. And that's huge. It's 585 pages burnt in the brain. I've read. And then the other part is the declaration on the future relationship. Now that unlike the Withdrawal Agreement is not legally binding. It's essentially imprecise and aspirational in nature, and it's a declaration about what the future relationship is going to look like. So the Prime Minister's team is currently thinking if we break those apart and focus just on the divorce and put the future relationship to one side for a moment, can we get enough support to move that through Parliament? The thinking being that the Labour Party, the official opposition, want to see a permanent customs union, a much softer Brexit with close assignment to the EU as the majority of the MPs in the House of Commons. So that would be covered technically in the future relationship, not the divorce deal. So if Britain just needs to leave and needs to get something approved by tomorrow then that could just be the Withdrawal Agreement and crucially in the EU conclusions about how the process is going to work. They say it's only the Withdrawal Agreement, not the Political Declaration that needs to be passed by tomorrow's deadline in order to get the longer extension. So this could be the loophole that everyone is looking for.
[Chatterley:] Killing two birds with one stone, perhaps bringing some of the opposition Labourites onboard with the option of messing around with the future relationship going forward. But also crucially perhaps ruling out a no-deal exit here, at least until May the 22nd. Erin, come in here. We just heard from Bianca there suggesting that perhaps this could be a work around getting some kind of vote done by Friday of this week. And as I mentioned there perhaps ruling a no-deal exit at least between now and May 22nd. How is that going down in Brussels do we think?
[Erin Mclaughlin, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, I think at this point, Julia, if they manage to get the withdrawal deal across the line, I think that certainly would be a welcome development here in Brussels. The Political Declaration as Bianca was just saying there is seen as aspirational. It's also open ended. Any of the eventualities that were being explored in Westminster last night could be possible under the current terms of the Political Declaration. So that is actually the state of play there in London. I think plenty of people here would be scratching their heads but nevertheless welcome that as an outcome. Because at this point there is lots of frustration and concern about what Brussels saw unfolding there in Westminster. They are looking out across the English Channel, trying to find some clarity and coming up empty at this point. Take a listen to what Margaritis Schinas, the spoke person for the European Commission had to say earlier today.
[Margaritis Schinas, Chief Spokesman, European Commission:] The commission takes note of the indicative votes in the House of Commons last night. This is part of an ongoing political process in the United Kingdom which we fully respect. We counted eight nos last night. Now we need a yes on the way forward.
[Mclaughlin:] And at this point there is very little the EU can do to help this process. And that is by design. Keep in mind what played out last week at that critical EU summit when the 27 EU leaders gathered around the table and decided to create a new cliff edge. I'm being told here by diplomats that they didn't create the cliff edge thinking the April 12th cliff edge thinking the U.K. was going to be able to get its act together. There is very little hope for that. They created the new cliff edge in order not to be blamed for Brexit for a no-deal Brexit. That's really a priority for the EU at this point.
[Chatterley:] Yes, the technical term, cliff edge thinking. We could do with a bit more urgency behind the thinking if that's what it is. Erin McLaughlin, thank you so much for that. And of course Bianca Nobilo there too. All right, so let's bring in journalist, writer and broadcaster, Gavin Esler, joins us now. Great to have you with us.
[Gavin Esler, Journalist, Writer And Broadcaster:] Very nice to be here.
[Chatterley:] You were listening to that discussion. What is the likelihood that perhaps this vote of separating the current arrangement and the exit with the future relationship might bring in the Labourites here? Because the rumor was that it was discussed with Jeremy Corbyn and he was like, nothing doing.
[Esler:] Well I have to say, the only thing I'm certain of today, is that it's a beautiful day here in Westminster. It's a beautiful spring day. Everything else you can take with a pinch of salt if you choose. But, look, the Labour Party may have many flaws but they are not stupid. They can understand that this is a stunt. This may go through. It's possible. I think if it does, it will go through with a lot of people holding their noses and will hate this deal. So that's hardly a way to run a country. So I suspect the Labour Party general would not fall for it.
[Chatterley:] But it is a way ultimately of agreeing that the U.K. is going to leave the EU and it leaves the future up for debate here. As we saw from the votes last night what was close was two things, one was a closer relationship between the U.K. and the EU, a so-called customs union as we've called it, or the possibility of a second referendum here. So it leaves both options arguably on the table for Labour.
[Esler:] I think you're absolutely right. But those two could be taken together. There is a move to say if we get a customs union type deal, a softer Brexit, then we should vote on it. It wouldn't be either or. In other words, if the other half does and things fall away, Parliament could coalesce around those two things, which is at least a possibility. And that would give us all a chance to vote on the practicalities of the Brexit, but in principle. But without knowing any of the details people voted on a couple of years ago.
[Chatterley:] You know, it's interesting, you said Labour aren't that stupid. But ultimately there are 17.4 million people, the majority of the country that said that they wanted the U.K. to leave the
[Eu. Esler:] Three years ago. That's the problem. I mean, the people have changed their minds. Some of the voters passed on. A whole generation over the age of 16 is now able to vote because they are now over the age of 18. It's quite clear from opinion polls that we, while there was a vote in 2016, you know there was a vote in 1979 which put Mrs. Thatcher in power. We respect that but don't live in 1979 or 2016. I think people have moved on.
[Chatterley:] Wow, so you're saying actually that now this process is taking so long that actually we have given the change, the shift in voter sentiment that the polls are suggesting at least perhaps going back to a second vote is in some way justified. It's a bold call.
[Esler:] I think it is. Also I think some people think, oh, if we get it over the line which the government keeps saying it will be finished. That's when Brexit will start to the negotiations will start. This will gone go on for years. And I think people are fed up with it. And if they want to bring it to an end there are those possibility.
[Chatterley:] So we're talking about almost taking Theresa May's, adding on perhaps a future customs union arrangement, a much closer relationship. And then saying fine, this is the package. This is Brexit. Here it is.
[Esler:] Well you may have solved you may have solved it on this glorious day.
[Chatterley:] I think we just did it together.
[Esler:] We'll have to see. I mean, MPs are many, many really good people in there trying to do their best for the country. And there are others who just simply want to be leaders of the Conservative Party. Because what has brought this about is 40 years of infighting within the Conservative Party which unseated Margaret Thatcher, unseated Cameron and is unseating Theresa May, unfortunately. Time to bring that to an end.
[Chatterley:] That's the risk. That it's about leadership battle perhaps more than anything else. Fantastic to have you with us. Thank you so much Gavin. That's it from Westminster for now Cyril. Of course I'll hand it back to you. You know you're having a look at the day's other top stories.
[Vanier:] Yes, Julia, thank you for the coverage. We'll cross back shortly to get more on Brexit from London. Still to come on the show, two recent crashes, similar circumstances and more than 300 lives lost. Now Boeing is making changes to one of its planes. And we take you inside the 737 Max training simulator. The only simulator in Ethiopia for the aircraft that crashed two weeks ago.
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