MAY OFFERS PLAN B FOR BREXIT

Last week, after her Brexit plan went down to the most resounding defeat in modern British history, Prime Minister Theresa May was told to come back with a Plan B. She did that Monday, and it looked a lot like Plan A.

Why is she in the news?

May has proved herself to be a determined fighter for what she thinks is right, and her Plan B seems to fit the pattern. Despite losing in Parliament last week by 230 votes, May told lawmakers that she still hoped to win them over by negotiating changes to her plan that many regard as cosmetic.

May also said that she did not believe there was a majority in Parliament for a second referendum that could rethink the whole process of withdrawal, and she rejected the option of pivoting toward a model of Brexit that keeps closer ties to the European Union, an option more attractive to opposition lawmakers.

Instead, she appears to be doubling down on her gamble that, as the deadline to Brexit approaches, lawmakers will ultimately hold their noses and vote for her unpopular plan for fear of the alternatives — a no-deal Brexit or no Brexit at all.

What happens next?

That has left the process more or less where it has been for months, with May locked in game of brinkmanship as the clock ticks down to Britain’s scheduled departure March 29 with no obvious solution in sight.