UK parliament votes for a Brexit delay

Britain’s parliament has voted in favour of delaying the UK’s departure from the European Union by three months, pending approval of Prime Minister Theresa May‘s Brexit deal within a week.

MPs in the House of Commons voted 412 to 202 on Thursday in favour of a government motion proposing a “one-off extension … for the purpose of passing the necessary EU exit legislation” until June 30, provided May’s widely maligned deal wins parliament’s approval by Wednesday next week.

Parliamentarians also voted by a crushing majority of 334 to 84 against an amendment proposing a second referendum. Despite the main opposition Labour Party now backing a so-called “people’s vote”, most of its MPs abstained.

An amendment to hold indicative votes on the next steps in the Brexit process, which would have given MPs the opportunity to take control of Brexit, was also defeated by a mere two votes.

May will now be expected to request an extension to Article 50 – the exit clause in the EU’s constitution – and Britain’s current March 29 departure date from EU officials, who are required to sign off on any delay to a departure from the bloc.

If May fails to win parliamentary approval for her deal by March 20, the Brexit delay could be extended beyond three months. British legislators have already overwhelmingly rejected her EU divorce deal twice.

EU lukewarm on prospect of delay

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said any delay to Article 50 would require “the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states”, citing the 27 other countries which make up the EU, minus the UK.

EU leaders’ consideration will give “priority to the need to ensure the functioning of the EU institutions” as well as take into account “the reasons for and duration of a possible extension”, the spokesperson said.

The European Council is due to meet next on March 21-22.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s lead Brexit spokesman, said in a tweet there was “no reason at all” for the European Council to agree to a delay “unless there is a clear majority in the House of Commons for something precise”.

MPs voted on Wednesday to rule out a no-deal Brexit under any circumstances by 321 votes to 278.

The vote was not legally binding, however, and therefore does not rule out the possibility of the UK exiting the bloc without an agreement on the terms of its departure.

May’s Brexit deal defeated, again

It came a day after MPs voted 391 to 242 against May’s plan, on Tuesday, fewer than 24 hours after she claimed to have won meaningful concessions from Brussels over the deal’s contentious so-called “backstop” clause.

The result marked a second defeat within two months for the prime minister over her Brexit strategy after MPs overwhelmingly rejected the proposed withdrawal agreement by a margin of 230 in January.

Leader of the main opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said after the vote on Tuesday that May’s plan for leaving the EU was “dead” and called on the government to adopt his proposals for an alternative departure from the bloc.

The EU has said no other terms of withdrawal are available to the UK other than the deal brokered with May during months of fractious back-and-forth negotiations, however.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies