May promises parliament a vote to delay Brexit

The prospect of Britain suffering an abrupt and potentially chaotic departure from the European Union next month receded Tuesday when Prime Minister Theresa May agreed that parliament should have the option to seek a delay in Britain’s exit plans.

May’s concession, in the face of a rebellion by high-ranking, pro-European members of her own party, was the latest in a long line of retreats as she has struggled to cajole the fractious Tories into supporting a revised version of the deal on withdrawal, or Brexit, that lawmakers threw out by a massive margin last month. While her move lessens significantly the risk of a potentially disastrous “no deal” Brexit by the March 29 deadline, an extension of the negotiating period will merely delay that danger by a couple of months, not end it.

Nonetheless, May’s announcement re- assured currency markets, which pushed the pound higher. And it appeared to defuse the growing revolt in a Conservative Party, which is becoming increasingly jittery about the economic dangers of departing the bloc without any agreement. Her intervention came a day after the opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, gave way to critics within his own Labour party and promised to call for a second referendum on Brexit if May did not support Labour’s alternative proposals, which she has already rejected. May’s reversal was striking because she had insisted dozens of times in parliament that Britain would definitely leave the European Union on schedule March 29, though preferably with a deal.

In effect, May granted them their wish to vote on an extension, but retained control of the agenda and gained two weeks’ time, until March 12, when she will bring her revised deal back to parliament.