PM races to save Brexit deal from defeat

On eve of parliamentary vote, May hopes to curb magnitude of defeat

Ahead of a vote on her Brexit plan that could go down to a humiliating defeat in Parliament, Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain was fighting Monday less to avert the loss than to limit its scale.

In that vein, May enlisted fresh promises from Europe’s most senior officials through an exchange of letters and warned supporters of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union that the whole project would be threatened if her deal was voted down as expected.

Neither tactic looked likely to change the overall outcome, but if May can curb the magnitude of any defeat to manageable proportions, she could avert an immediate political meltdown.

That, given the precarious state of events, would be a victo- ry of sorts.

Speaking in a ceramics factory in Stoke-on-Trent, an area that voted heavily to leave the European Union, May warned that Britain’s failure to withdraw from the bloc would risk “a subversion of the democratic process” and do “catastrophic harm” to faith in politics.

Though she carefully refused to rule it out, May insisted that she has no intention of seeking to extend the negotiating deadline of March 29 laid down under Article 50 of the EU’s treaty.

Even in defeat, May wants to show that, in a Parliament paralyzed over Brexit, her plan still has more support than likely alternatives, like negotiating closer ties to the European Union, rethinking Brexit altogether through a second referendum or leaving without any deal at all.

The stakes are high because a crushing defeat in the vote Tuesday could destroy May’s strategy of keeping her plan alive in the hope that, as other options falter, lawmakers will support hers out of desperation. A severe loss, meaning by more than 100 votes in Parliament, would reduce prospects of Britain winning further concessions from EU officials.

A loss of historic proportions might make her position untenable, forcing her resignation.

May has been trying to persuade lawmakers to side with her for fear of the disorderly Brexit that might arise on March 29 if, by then, there is no agreement.