British lawmakers on Wednesday took another step towards delaying Brexit, when it voted to reject the U.K. leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement — just weeks before the country is scheduled to do exactly that.
The vote, on an amendment to reject a “no-deal” Brexit under any circumstance, squeezed by 312-308 and marks the latest defeat for the Conservative-led government a day after Parliament overwhelmingly voted down Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal for a second time, just weeks before the U.K. is due to leave the bloc on March 29.
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The defeat is yet another blow for May, who has seen defeat after defeat for her approach to Brexit, plunging Britain into an even deeper political crisis — with no immediate end in sight. The amendment that passed changed the language of a government motion that May had announced a day earlier that would have expressed disapproval of ‘no-deal Brexit” but the language in the so-called Spelman Amendment goes a step further and rules it out entirely.
Wednesday’s motion is entirely symbolic and does not change the situation on the ground that Britain will leave the E.U. on March 29 without a deal unless an extension to its departure is secured, or May’s withdrawal agreement is approved by lawmakers. But it will lead to a vote on Thursday, in which lawmakers will vote on a motion to request that Britain’s depature be extended until June — but it is far from clear that the E.U. will grant such a request.
‘We live under a system of law, and a motion passed in Parliament does not override the law,” Pro-Brexit MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News after the Wednesday vote. “The Withdrawal Act means we live on the March 29 under UK law and the Article 50 Act we means leave on March 29 under E.U. law.”
In the absence of a delay or a withdrawal agreement, Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc without a deal and revert to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms. Business groups and pro-E.U. politicians, including some in May’s government, have said that a “no deal” Brexit would be catastrophic, leading to chaos at ports and shortages across the country. Some pro-Brexit lawmakers have called that such fears are overblown and part of what they have dubbed “Project Fear.”
But on Wednesday before the vote, May’s opponents declared her to be responsible for Britain’s political uncertainty and said that she had lost the ability to lead the country through the choppy waters ahead.
“The prime minister’s deal has failed, she no longer has the ability to lead, this is a rudderless government in the face of a huge national crisis,” Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn declared in Parliament on Wednesday.
Earlier, he called on her to abandon her red lines for a deal “and face the reality of the situation she has got herself, this party, this parliament and this country into.”
May, her voice hoarse and weak as she apparently battles illness, was defiant, and accused Corbyn of voting “in a way that brings no-deal closer.”
“I may not have my own voice but I do understand the voice of the country,” she said. “People want to leave the E.U., they want to end free movement, they want to have our own trade policy, they want to make sure laws are made in this country and judged in our courts. That’s what the deal delivers, that’s what I will continue to work to deliver.”
Corbyn, a day earlier, said it was time for a general election, after declaring “the clock has been run out” on May.
May was also under intense pressure from her own ranks, particularly members of the fiercely pro-Brexit wing of her party who helped vote the deal down over concerns about the backstop — a safety net that would keep Britain in a customs union until a trade deal was agreed to so as to prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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Brexiteers have expressed concern that the lack of a unilateral exit mechanism could lead to Britain never actually leaving the E.U. or being forced to accept bad terms. May sought changes to the deal to assure jumpy MPs but it wasn’t enough to assuage Parliament on Tuesday, where her agreement was defeated 391-242.
May fought off a vote of no confidence in her leadership of the party in December, and in the government in January. But the latest rejection of her deal has seemingly refueled calls for her to stand down or call a general election.
“I think there is an issue that the Prime Minister is not capable of changing course, and that is catastrophic for the country and I think she should stand down,” Labour Party MP Liz Kendall said on BBC.
When asked about Kendall’s comments, Tory Party MP Steve Baker — who previously called for her to stand down — appeared to agree with Kendall’s assessment of May’s attitude but said that “given past events, I’d be well advised to say no more about it”
Pro-Remain Tory MP Nicky Morgan, meanwhile told Sky News that: “If votes today go against her I do think it makes her position very, very difficult”
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Ahead of the vote on Wednesday, the Times of London reported that May, in an effort to face off another rebellion from her backbenches, was to allow a free vote on an alternative Brexit plan known as the Malthouse compromise — named after housing minister Kit Malthouse who had forged the agreement between Brexiteers and Remainer MPs.
That compromise plan would extend Britain’s departure until May, and then place Britain and the E.U.’s relationship in a “transitional standstill” until 2021 to allow for a “no deal” Brexit if a trade deal was not achieved. But that vote was shot down 374-164.
Even if the E.U agrees to a Brexit delay, it is unclear what would change in three months to resolve the impasse.
The alternatives are a general election, for May to step down voluntarily (she cannot be challenged by her own party until December) and be replaced by another prime minister who would offer a different approach, a no-deal Brexit or a second referendum — something that the Labour Party and other pro-E.U. parties have called for.
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