Parliament slams the door on Brexit deal
LONDON — With just 73 days to go until this nation is scheduled to leave the European Union, lawmakers Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected the withdrawal deal painstakingly negotiated between Prime Minister Theresa May and her European counterparts.
The landslide vote — 432 to 202 — was pure humiliation for a British leader who has spent the past two years trying to sell her vision of Brexit to a skeptical public.
Her failure raised serious questions about how — and if — Britain will leave the EU as promised on March 29.
Hardcore Brexiteers, such as former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, cheered the result as increasing the chances of Britain leaving the European Union with no deal and no compromises — or with a much, much better deal than May or EU leaders say is realistic.
At the same time, those who want to see a second referendum on Brexit, and who want to stay in the union, think May’s loss gets them closer to their goal.
The political turmoil heightened fears among European leaders that Britain will crash out of the bloc in a chaotic, no-deal departure that would have harsh economic and humanitarian consequences on both sides of the English Channel.
“The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. “While we do not want this to happen, the European Commission will continue its contingency work to help ensure the EU is fully prepared.”
In the House of Commons on Tuesday, May stood almost alone, flashing defiance and frustration, as many in her own party abandoned their leader.
Historians had to go as far back as the Victorian age to find a comparable party split and parliamentary defeat — to Prime Minister William Gladstone’s support for Irish home rule in 1886, which cut the Liberal Party in two.
“The events in Parliament today are really quite remarkable,” University of Cambridge political historian Luke Blaxill said. “This doesn’t happen.”
Meaning, British parties usually fight with one another in Parliament — but members don’t tear their own parties apart.
Jeremy Corbyn, the opposition Labour Party leader, called the loss “historic” and said May’s routine of “delay and denial” had led to disaster.
“She cannot seriously believe after two years of failure she is capable of negotiating a good deal,” Corbyn said.
He then introduced a motion of no-confidence, to be debated and voted upon today.
Afterward, leaders of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May’s minority government, announced that they would support the prime minister, thereby making her ouster unlikely.
Rob Ford, a professor of politics at Manchester University, said these indeed were strange times.
“Normally, if you were looking at a defeat of 50plus votes on the No. 1 item on the government’s agenda, then that would be it. Game over. The prime minister would be gone, and the government would probably fall immediately. But that’s clearly not going to happen,” Ford said.
May called Tuesday’s vote in Parliament the most important in a generation.
She told lawmakers the choice was plain: support her imperfect compromise deal — the only one Europe will abide, she stressed — or face the cliff edge of a nodeal Brexit.
Staring directly at Corbyn, May said anyone who thought they could go to Brussels and get a better deal was deluding themselves.
But the vote against her plan was decisive.
Moments after the result came in, May said: “The government has heard what the House has said tonight.”
She has until Monday to return with a Plan B. Her office has been tight-lipped about what alternatives she might offer. May said she would reach out to members of Parliament to find out what kind of Brexit deal, if any, they would endorse.
“What Theresa May does now will become less and less relevant to what outcome we get. The key thing to be watching is what Parliament does next and what Labour does next,” Ford said.
Other European leaders, who expected the deal to fail, where stunned by the scale. Yet they said they saw little they could do to try to ease any agreement through the British Parliament.
“Maybe we’ll make improvements on one or two things,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “But I don’t really think so, because we’ve reached the maximum of what we could do with the deal, and we won’t, just to solve Britain’s domestic political issues, stop defending European interests.”
Guy Verhofstadt, the Brexit coordinator for the European Parliament, sounded especially frustrated.
“The House of Commons today said they don’t want this deal. I want to know what deal the House of Commons really does want? Because otherwise you can’t make an agreement.”
At least one prominent voice suggested Britain might reconsider its divorce effort altogether.
“If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?” European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted.
Britain could ask to postpone Brexit beyond March 29 and try to buy more time to work out its problems. An extension would require unanimous consent from the remaining EU countries.
“It creates a great deal of uncertainty and worries,” Macron said.
Outside Parliament, the scene was raucous. Thousands of protesters, many in costumes, gathered to shout at each other — illustrating how unsettled Brexit remains more than two years after voters opted in a 2016 June referendum to leave the EU.
Brexiteers banged drums and rang a “liberty” bell, while pro-EU demonstrators handed out “Bollocks to Brexit” stickers in Parliament Square beside two huge video screens set up for the live broadcast of the final speeches and the vote.
Jeff Wyatt, 54, a pro-Brexit voter, held aloft a placard that accused May of treason. Another man in the crowd suggested the prime minister should face the executioner’s ax.
“For the first time in the history of my country, we’ve got Parliament against the people,” Wyatt said, gesturing at the Palace of Westminster.