May pulls vote on Brexit agreement debate
British Prime Minister Theresa May abruptly postponed a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal
This has thrown Britain’s plan to leave the European Union into chaos after admitting that she faced a rout.
May’s move on the eve of the scheduled parliamentary vote opens up an array of possible outcomes, ranging from a disorderly Brexit with no deal to another referendum on EU membership. May’s own position could be in jeopardy, with calls from opposition parties for her to step aside.
May said she still intended to put her deal to members of parliament. But she would first ask the EU for more “reassurances” over the main bone of contention: a “backstop” to ensure no hard border on the island of Ireland, which her critics say means Britain could end up indefinitely subject to EU rules after it leaves.
Announcing the delay, May was laughed at by some MPs when she said there was broad support for the deal and that she had listened carefully to different views over it - the result of 18 months of tortuous negotiations.
“If we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow the deal would be rejected by a significant margin,” May told parliament, adding that she was confident it was the right deal.
“We will therefore defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow and not proceed to divide the House at this time,” May said. The United Kingdom would meanwhile step up contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit when it is due to leave on March 29.
Published: by Radio NewsHub