Could the House of Commons be cut out of the loop on a new Brexit bill? | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images UK Brexit department’s annual plan omits MP vote on deal ‘Future decisions on how to take Brexit forward will be for the next PM,’ a spokesperson for the department says.

The U.K. Brexit department's latest overarching plan, which it published Thursday, does not include a commitment to hold another parliamentary vote on the deal finalized by Theresa May's government, heightening fears among Remainers that MPs will be cut out of the loop.

The previous so-called Single Departmental Plan, released in May 2018, included a promise to “hold a vote on the final deal — covering both the Withdrawal Agreement and the terms for our future relationship with the EU — in parliament as soon as possible after the negotiations have concluded.” But the updated version includes no such vow.

Three constitutional experts told POLITICO the omission was most likely unintentional. The government is bound by law to hold a vote on the final deal, and would need to introduce new legislation in the Commons to change that. Nikki da Costa, the former head of legislative affairs at Downing Street, said: "This is very likely just to be an oversight — having a vote and passing legislation to approve a deal is set out in law."

But the explanation from the Department for Exiting the European Union suggested officials are keeping the future prime minister's options open. Asked why the line about a parliamentary vote had been left out of the new document, a spokesperson said: “This is because we delivered on our commitment and parliament voted against the deal, and future decisions on how to take Brexit forward will be for the next PM.”

Boris Johnson, the front-runner in the Tory leadership race, told a hustings event in Bournemouth Thursday night that the option of suspending parliament to prevent MPs from blocking a no-deal exit should be "on the table," according to the Telegraph.

Labour MP Owen Smith, speaking on behalf of the pro-second referendum People’s Vote campaign, said: "Brexit was falsely advertised as a way of increasing the sovereignty of our parliament. Instead, the government seems to be trying to lay the groundwork for cutting parliament out of the process entirely. That would be a democratic outrage.”

He added: "The next prime minister who will decide where we go on Brexit is being picked by just 160,000 members of the Conservative Party, representing only 0.25 percent of the population. And now parliament looks like being side-lined as well.

"Our elected parliament must be given a say on Brexit, but in order to deliver a stable and lasting conclusion to this crisis, it must ultimately be the public who get the final say."