U.K.’s May faces down revolt over Brexit bill

LONDON — At the same time that questions were raised about whether foul play impacted the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, British Prime Minister Theresa May faced down more rebellion Tuesday over her Brexit plans, as lawmakers narrowly rejected a measure that could have kept Britain in a customs union with the 28-nation bloc.

This time, it was pro-EU lawmakers from both Ms. May’s Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party who tried to derail the prime minister’s plans for post-Brexit trade relations with the EU.

They attempted to force through legislation that would have required Britain to join a European customs union if it had failed to negotiate a “frictionless free trade area for goods” two months before the country leaves the EU next year. The House of Commons defeated the measure by a mere six votes, 307-301.

The win was the second for Ms. May in as many days. Her government on Monday avoided a humiliating defeat in Parliament when it narrowly won another vote over her Brexit customs bill — but only after reluctantly accepting amendments put forward by Brexit hardliners.

A relieved International Trade Secretary Liam Fox described the trade plan as “the confident first step that the U.K. takes towards establishing itself as an independent trading nation for the first time in over 40 years.”

But the slim margins and rebellion from members of her own party have underscored the fragility of the prime minister’s government as she tries to move the complex Brexit process forward. The bill now moves on to the House of Lords.

Ms. May was defeated, however, on a separate amendment about medicine regulation. She must now try to ensure that the U.K. continues to participate in the regulatory network operated by the European Medicines Agency.

Labour’s spokesman on trade, Barry Gardiner, described the scene in Parliament “an utter shambles.”

“We have a prime minister who is in office, but not in power,” he said.

The challenges to Ms. May’s proposals came as some British politicians again questioned the legitimacy of the 2016 Brexit referendum, following an Electoral Commission finding that the official campaign for Brexit broke election laws. Supporters of Britain leaving the EU won the referendum with 52 percent of the vote.

The commission said the Vote Leave group, backed by senior politicians who included former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, failed to declare $894,000 it spent with Canadian data firm Aggregate IQ. The undeclared spending meant the campaign group exceeded the $9.2 million spending limit by almost 500,000 pounds.

“This news makes the narrow referendum result look dodgier than ever,” Labour lawmaker David Lammy said. “Its validity is now in question.” Fellow Labour lawmaker Chuka Umunna told Parliament on Tuesday that “we cannot say with confidence that this foul play did not impact on the result.”

The commission said it found significant evidence that Vote Leave spent more than it declared by funneling cash to a small, unregistered pro-Brexit youth group, BeLeave.