Brexit: Focus is now on ‘Plan B’
LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May was set to win a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening after suffering a humiliating blow on Tuesday when her Brexit withdrawal agreement was voted down by 432-202 - the largest margin ever in British Parliamentary history.
Seeking fresh elections to resolve the Brexit imbroglio, Labour Party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn pushed for the no-confidence motion and insisted that May’s “zombie government” is unable to govern after losing the Brexit vote.
“Do the right thing and resign,” he told May.
The no-confidence motion is expected to go in May’s favour since the critics who voted against the Brexit agreement do not want her government to fall, including the Democratic Unionist Party, which is propping up May’s minority government.
As she promised in a statement after losing the Brexit vote, May will work on “Plan B” after consulting “senior parliamentarians” to identify what would be required to secure the agreement’s endorsement of the House of Commons, which is necessary before the UK leaves the EU on March 29.
“I have always believed that the best way forward is to leave in an orderly way with a good deal and have devoted much of the last two years negotiating such a deal…We will therefore make a statement about the way forward and table an amendable motion by Monday,” she said.
As EU leaders awaited clarity on Brexit from London, May insisted during the debate on the no-confidence motion that another election was “simply not in the national interest” and that it would not resolve Brexit-related differences - neither would another referendum.
The future of Brexit remains unclear as European leaders regretted Tuesday’s outcome.