No deal and delay now on the table

LONDON — Britain’s bumpy journey out of the European Union took a major turn Tuesday, as Prime Minister Theresa May handed the steering wheel to Parliament, giving lawmakers the power to slam on the brakes and divert Britain away from a disruptive and chaotic Brexit.

Bowing to pressure from within her own government to avert a damaging “no-deal” Brexit, May told legislators she would give them three choices: approve the divorce agreement she has struck with the EU, vote to leave the bloc on March 29 without a deal, or ask the EU to delay Brexit by up to three months.

May said the promises were “commitments I am making as prime minister and I will stick by them.”

It is the first time she has conceded that Britain may not leave the EU on March 29, the date fixed two years ago and enshrined in U.K. law as departure day.

With that date just over a month away, the government has not been able to win parliamentary approval for its agreement with the EU on withdrawal terms and future relations. Anxiety over the standoff is intensifying since a chaotic “no-deal” Brexit could cause disruptions for businesses and people in both Britain and the 27 remaining EU countries.

May promised lawmakers they would get to vote again on her deal by March 12. If it is rejected, lawmakers will vote the next day on whether to leave the bloc without an agreement. If the no-deal option is defeated, they will vote on whether to seek a delay to Brexit.

Because a majority of lawmakers oppose a “no-deal” Brexit, Parliament’s choice is effectively between backing May’s deal and postponing Britain’s departure from the EU.

May said her goal remains to lead Britain out of the EU on schedule and with a deal.

“I don’t want to see an extension,” she said, adding that any delay to Brexit should be “as short as possible.”

But her announcement angered pro-Brexit lawmakers.

“My suspicion is that any delay to Brexit is a plot to stop Brexit,” said leading Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. “This would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit.”

Pro-EU politicians, meanwhile, said May’s move did not go far enough.

“A temporary extension does not rule out a no-deal Brexit; it merely moves the cliff-edge back a few weeks,” said anti-Brexit Conservative Dominic Grieve.

May’s concession to Parliament came after members of her government joined calls for her to rule out a “no-deal” departure. Three government ministers wrote in Tuesday’s Daily Mail they planned to vote with opposition lawmakers to stop a no-deal withdrawal unless May agreed to delay Brexit and guarantee “we are not swept over the precipice on March 29.”

Delaying Brexit would require approval from all 27 other EU countries. European Council President Donald Tusk said Monday the remaining members would “show maximum understanding and goodwill” to such a request.

But some EU leaders say Britain must have a good reason for seeking the delay.

Philippe Lamberts, an influential member of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said a British request for an extension must be accompanied by “a credible plan for holding a people’s vote on the final deal that includes an option to remain” in the EU.

Businesses warn that without a deal, Britain risks a chaotic departure that could disrupt trade between the U.K. and the EU, its biggest trading partner. The uncertainty has already led many British firms to shift some operations abroad, stockpile goods or defer investment decisions.

Businesses and the markets were relieved by May’s statement, which did not rule out “no deal” but pushed it a bit further away.