Theresa May’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement rejected
Humiliated Theresa May hints at an election as her withdrawal deal is rejected yet again, throwing Brexit’s future into doubt.
Brexit, in the short term, appears dead, after Westminster voted to reject the withdrawal agreement early this morning.
MPs sent a clear message - for the third time - that the deal negotiated by Theresa May and the European Union leaders, is unacceptable.
The vote was rejected 344 to 286m, by a margin of 58.
BREAKING: Parliament rejects PM May's Brexit deal for a third time.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 29, 2019
Britain is now due to leave the EU in two weeks on April 12.https://t.co/blGAeTCXJL pic.twitter.com/ywKvr2RzU3
The Prime Minister couldn’t get the Democratic Unionist Party to swing behind her, nor huge swathes of the Labour leavers who had sensed their votes wouldn’t be crucial.
The result now switches the pressure to the EU, who will have to grant a lengthy extension - as much as two years or longer - for any type of Brexit to occur. The legal default alternative, which the EU appears not too keen on, is a no deal Brexit to occur on April 12.
The EU leaders are planning an emergency meeting to discuss whether to grant any extension on April 10.
On Sunday night UK time Mrs May will hold a conference call with her cabinet to decide on how to proceed, as she prepares to put her deal to a vote for a fourth time next week.
This Monday the parliamentary backbenchers will once again take control of the order paper and will put a range of Brexit options to indicative votes to try and find a consensus to take to the EU.
Mrs May said the implication of the House’s decision “is grave’’. She said the legal default is to leave on the 12th April and there is not enough time to ratify a deal, hinting she might call a general election if MPs continue to reject her..
"Once again, we have been unable to support leaving the European Union in an orderly fashion."
— Bloomberg (@business) March 29, 2019
Theresa May speaks after Parliament rejects the Brexit deal for a third time https://t.co/cqM70ibaQi pic.twitter.com/bB1czkFFYc
“I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House,” she told MPs. “The House has rejected no deal, rejected no Brexit, rejected all variations and today rejected approving the withdrawal agreement; this government will continue to press for an orderly Brexit.,” she said.
The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford both called for a general election to break the deadlock.
Theresa May and the art of no deal
The European Commission said in a statement that a no deal scenario was now “a likely outcome’’ and insisted that the EU remained united.
The Commission said in a statement that the benefits of a Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, will in no circumstances be repeated in a no deal scenario. “Sectorial deals are not an option,’’ the commission said.
Meanwhile it has emerged that 34 Tory MPs crossed the floor and voted against the government’s deal.
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