U.K. lawmakers vote to hold May to her Brexit promises
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Wednesday that Britain will leave the European Union on schedule next month, amid signs that her promise to give Parliament a vote on delaying Brexit was boosting support for her unpopular EU divorce deal.
May has bowed to pressure from within her Conservative government and given Parliament the chance to delay Britain’s scheduled March 29 departure if lawmakers fail to approve her divorce agreement with the bloc.
The change of course was welcomed by pro-EU members of Britain’s divided Parliament, who sought further guarantees the government would not try to renege on May’s commitment. Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 502-20 in favor of a symbolic motion underscoring May’s promise.
Some pro-Brexit lawmakers, who fear delaying Brexit day could be used to try to stop Britain’s withdrawal altogether, abstained from the vote.
On Tuesday, May gave Parliament a greater say over Brexit to forestall a rebellion by pro-EU members of her government, who threatened to quit and vote with the opposition in order to rule out a disruptive “no-deal” Brexit. She said Parliament will get to vote again on her deal with the EU by March 12. If it is rejected, lawmakers will then vote on whether to leave the EU without a deal or seek to postpone Brexit by up to three months.
May stressed that she personally opposes extending the Brexit deadline, and said “the United Kingdom remains on course to leave the European Union with a deal” if lawmakers “hold their nerve.” anyone other than the voter or a close relative to handle a mail-in ballot, a measure aimed at guarding against manipulation.
Prosecutors are still investigating evidence of ballot tampering by Dowless and others working on behalf of GOP candidate Mark Harris during last fall’s election in the 9th District. A do-over election has been ordered.
One of them, the small city of Guerneville, “is officially an island,” the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement.
A short time later, an official said the nearby town of Monte Rio was also isolated by floodwaters with all roads leading to it swamped.
The swollen Russian River was forecast to rise more throughout the day, engorged by days of rain from western U.S. storms that has also dumped heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, throughout the Pacific Northwest and into Montana.