Brexit beatdown
Brit pols crush May’s plan; gov’t in peril
In another blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan, Parliament overwhelmingly voted against exiting the European Union on Tuesday.
The 391-242 tally, which rejected the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, comes only 17 days before the country’s planned exit.
Not only is a potential separation from the E.U. unlikely to occur on time so close to the deadline, but throws doubt on whether the partisan plan will occur at all, reported the BBC.
“Le me be clear. Voting against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not solve the problems we face,” May said after the loss. “The E.U. will want to know what use we will make of such an extension.”
The vote is viewed as a sound rejection of May’s Conservative Party leadership.
Other European officials weighed in on the vote, including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who says May should get the boot.
“This is a dereliction of duty. It is the prime minister’s failure to listen after the first defeat and pandering to Brexit extremists that has made (Tuesday’s) outcome inevitable,” said Sturgeon. “The U.K. is teetering on the edge, and the government has stopped functioning.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labor Party, said May should call for a general election.
“The government has been defeated again by an enormous majority and it must accept its deal is clearly dead and does not have the support of this House,” said Corbyn.
While politicians within Britain openly questioned whether a Brexit deal could get done, even European Union officials thought Brexit could face a slow death.
“The E.U. has done everything it can to help get the withdrawal agreement over the line,” tweeted Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier. “The impasse can only be solved in the U.K. Our ‘nodeal’ preparations are now more important than ever before.”
Brits voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 nationwide referendum by a 52%-48% decision. On March 29, 2017, the U.K. invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, stating its intention to withdraw from the union.
But the incredibly complicated and complex aspects of the Brexit deal, which includes everything from border patrols between Northern Ireland and Ireland to pharmaceutical controls and oversights to trade agreements with non-European countries, have taken nearly two years to untangle. Now that Brexit is unlikely to occur as planned, those arrangements — and countless others — could become invalid.
Those who favor Brexit, including many industry groups, say the 2016 referendum should be honored and the U.K. should leave the European Union as planned.
“It is now essential that Parliament brings the curtain down on this farce and removes the risk of no deal,” said Stephen Phipson, the chief executive of manufacturers’ group Make UK.