PM’S Brexit mayday Brits on the brink of a dire ‘no deal’ exit from the EU

THE UK could delay its divorce from the European Union after the British Parliament once again threw out Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans for a managed Brexit on March 29.

The House of Commons voted by 149 votes not to support Mrs May’s planned deal, after Attorney-general Geoffrey Cox advised that last-minute concessions from Europe still did not give the UK the power to walk away unilaterally from a backstop deal designed to head off a hard border in Ireland.

The Parliament voted 391-242 to reject the deal, meaning some Tory rebels returned to Mrs May’s side.

The defeat was less than the 230-vote majority that the deal lost by earlier this year.

But the end result was the same, and with just 17 days until the Brexit deadline on March 29, an exhausted Mrs May – who has lost her voice and can barely speak – is rapidly running out of time.

The failure of the deal negotiated between Mrs May and the EU sparked immediate speculation the UK could be heading for a snap election.

The Parliament was last night expected to vote on whether to support a no-deal Brexit, which would see the UK crash out of the EU without any deals in place on tariffs, customs and immigration, national security and people movement.

Such a scenario would likely cause chaos on the border and the British economy to tank in the short term.

Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn vowed to use the result to push for a softer or more managed Brexit deal. If the Parliament decides to support a no-deal Brexit, Mrs May said her government would implement it.

However, if it does decide to remove no-deal as an option, a second vote will follow tomorrow which could allow MPS to delay Brexit by extending Article 50, the legal instrument which triggers the UK’S withdrawal from the EU.