UK Parliament crushes May’s Brexit Deal again
The United Kingdom’s prime minister Theresa May faced another defeat when she tried to pass an amended Brexit deal in the House of Commons.
According to news agency Reuters, the lawmakers voted against May’s amended Brexit deal by 391 to 242 as her last-minute talks with EU chiefs to assuage her critics’ concerns ultimately proved fruitless.
The vote puts the world’s fifth largest economy in uncharted territory with no obvious way forward; exiting the EU without a deal, delaying the March 29 divorce date, a snap election or even another referendum are all now possible.
May might even try a third time to get parliamentary support in the hope that hardline eurosceptic lawmakers in her Conservative Party, the most vocal critics of her withdrawal treaty, might change their minds if it becomes more likely that Britain might stay in the EU after all.
Wales’ First Minister told BBC that Theresa May’s Brexit deal is dead. Drakeford said it should not be a surprise to anyone and called for Mrs May to take no-deal off the table.
The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March – with no deal agreed in the Commons with the remaining EU states.
The UK prime minister told lawmakers, “Let me be clear. Voting against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not solve the problems we face.”
She said parliament was now at an impasse, “Does it wish to revoke Article 50 (announcing intention to leave the EU)? Does it want to hold a second referendum? Or does it want to leave with a deal, but not this deal?”
Supporters of Brexit argue that, while a “no-deal” divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it would allow the United Kingdom to thrive and forge beneficial trade deals across the world.
However, parliament is expected firmly to reject a “no-deal” Brexit as well, so lawmakers would then vote again on Thursday – on whether government should request a delay to the leaving date to allow further talks.
Both May and the EU have already ruled out any other changes to the deal, struck after two-and-a-half years of tortuous negotiations.