May suffers another Brexit defeat

With Brexit 6 weeks away it looks like it may be a no-deal exit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May suffered an embarrassing defeat by lawmakers Thursday in a vote that left her bid to secure a European Union divorce deal stuck between an intransigent EU and a resistant U.K. Parliament — with Brexit just six weeks away.

The House of Commons voted by 303 votes to 258 against a motion reiterating support for May’s approach to Brexit — support expressed by lawmakers in votes just two weeks ago.


The defeat is symbolic rather than binding, but shows how weak May’s hand is as she tries to secure changes to her divorce deal from the EU in order to win backing for it in Parliament.


The government was defeated when hard-line pro-Brexit lawmakers in the governing Conservatives abstained because they feel the government is effectively ruling out the threat of leaving the European Union without an agreement on departure terms and future relations, a move they say undermines Britain’s bargaining position.


“Conservative MPs (members of Parliament) really ought not to be associated with anything, express or implied, which seems to take ‘no deal’ off the table,” Brexit-backing Conservative lawmaker Steve Baker tweeted before the vote.


Pro-EU lawmakers in Britain’s divided Parliament feel the opposite. They fear time is running out to seal a deal before Britain topples off a cliff. But the House of Commons on Thursday rejected two amendments from the opposition that sought to postpone Brexit or steer the U.K. away from the “no-deal” cliff edge.