Collapse averted for Brexit plan

May on tightrope trying to appease two wings of party

LONDON — The British government was rocked by a resignation and faced anger in Parliament over its Brexit plans Tuesday, but staved off defeat by offering concessions to lawmakers who want to soften the terms of the U.K.’S exit from the European Union.

By a vote of 324 to 298, the House of Commons rejected a move to give lawmakers power to send the government back to the negotiating table if they don’t like the terms of the Brexit deal struck with the EU.

The result left Prime Minister Theresa May to fight another day as she tries to take Britain out of the bloc while retaining support from pro-eu and pro-brexit wings of her Conservative Party.

But it came at a cost: a government promise to strengthen Parliament’s voice, potentially at the expense of its own power to set the terms of any final divorce deal with the EU.

The vote came on the first of two days of high-stakes debate and votes in the House of Commons on the government’s flagship Brexit bill.

The European Union Withdrawal Bill, intended to disentangle Britain from four decades of EU regulations, has had a rocky ride through Parliament. The upper chamber, the House of Lords, inserted amendments in 15 areas to soften the departure.

The government says the changes would weaken Britain’s negotiating position and seeks to reverse them in the Commons.

Brexit Secretary David Davis urged lawmakers to “respect the result of the referendum” that approved the withdrawal. He said giving Parliament power to direct the government’s hand in talks would be “an unconstitutional shift.”

The government won the first set of votes Tuesday but looked set to face defeat on the issue of whether Parliament should have a “meaningful vote” on the Brexit deal. Several pro-eu Conservative lawmakers said they would vote against the government.

The pro-eu faction got a boost when junior justice minister Phillip Lee resigned in protest Tuesday.