Theresa May suffers another humiliating defeat on Brexit
London — Prime Minister Theresa May suffered another humiliating Brexit defeat at the hands of her own eurosceptic MPs on Thursday, with just weeks to go until Britain officially leaves the EU.
In the symbolic vote, MPs voted 303 to 258 against a government motion endorsing its next moves in trying to secure a new withdrawal deal with the European Union.
While the vote does not force the government to change tack, the numbers will undermine EU leaders’ confidence that May can win parliament’s support for a revised agreement.
The latest twist in the two-year negotiation to leave the EU underlines the deep divisions in parliament over how, or even whether, Britain should leave the bloc in its biggest political and trade policy shift in more than 40 years.
It also increases the possibility of Britain leaving without a deal, a
nightmare scenario for many businesses, but also of Brexit being delayed or potentially never happening at all.
Up until the last minute before the votes, ministers and May’s chief whip, her enforcer in the House of Commons, tried to convince a group of Brexit supporters favouring a radical break with the
EU that leaving without an agreement was still the legal default position. The group, several dozen strong, had said they would abstain in Thursday’s vote.
Some Conservative and many opposition lawmakers accuse May of “running down the clock”, edging Britain closer to the exit date to try to force parliament into a choice between backing her deal or leaving without an agreement.
To try to prevent a no-deal exit, several lawmakers put down alternative proposals.
The real crunch date for the government looks set to come on Feb. 27, when May has promised the next round of votes. Lawmakers seeking to force the government to delay Brexit say that will be moment they make their move.
“Conservative MPs really ought not to be associated with anything, express or implied, which seems to take no deal off the table,” said leading ERG member Steve Baker.
“Compromising no deal would be the daftest negotiating strategy and not in the national interest.”
A senior source within the ERG said the group would abstain, according to the Daily Telegraph, which would spell almost certain defeat for May given Labour’s opposition to the motion. —