bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

British MPs will on Tuesday vote again on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, making the historic decision whether to back her plan or risk a chaotic exit from the EU in less than three weeks time.
Two months ago, the House of Commons rejected the withdrawal agreement by a huge majority, and sent May back to renegotiate.
EU leaders have rejected her demands, however, and talks between British and EU officials have failed to secure a breakthrough.
If they fail to approve a deal and if no extension is negotiated, Britain would have to leave the European Union after 46 years of membership on March 29, causing huge disruption on both sides.
Discussions at official level continued this weekend on some kind of legal guarantees that might persuade MPs to back the deal.
May is poised to make a last-minute visit herself if needed.
But few expect any major concessions before Tuesday’s vote, and the prime minister instead has sought to remind MPs of the stakes involved.

She warned in a speech Friday that rejecting her deal again would create a “moment of crisis”.
“Back it and the UK will leave the European Union. Reject it and no one knows what will happen,” she said.
“We may not leave the EU for many months. We may leave without the protections that the deal provides. We may never leave at all.”
A threatened cabinet revolt over the risks of a no-deal Brexit forced May to agree that, if her deal is defeated again, MPs will be able to vote on both a “no deal” option or a delay to Brexit this week.
Speaking in Grimsby, a North Sea fishing port that voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, May asked Brussels for “one more push” to get an agreement.


“The decisions that the European Union makes over the next few days will have a big impact on the outcome of the vote,” she said.
Their talks are focused on the so-called backstop, an arrangement in the Brexit deal intended to keep open the Irish border.
It would keep Britain in the EU’s customs union and parts of its single market until and unless another way – such as a trade deal – is found to avoid frontier checks.
What’s stalling Brexit talks between EU and UK? The Irish border issue explained
Many MPs fear a trap to keep them tied to EU rules, but Brussels has rejected calls for a time limit or unilateral way out of the arrangement.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier repeated on Friday that the bloc could offer a legally binding statement confirming the backstop was only meant to be temporary.
Speaking to reporters after May’s speech, he added: “We are not interested in the blame game, we are interested in the result.”


May’s deal was rejected by a majority of 230 votes in January, and although a few MPs have come onside, there is no sign yet of a major shift in opinion.
The main opposition Labour party still opposes the deal, even while May has been wooing individual MPs with promises of protection for workers’ rights and new funds for poor towns.
If the deal is rejected on Tuesday, MPs are expected to vote against a “no deal” exit on Wednesday, paving the way for a vote on delaying Brexit on Thursday.
UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supports second Brexit referendum, bowing to party pressure
May is offering the possibility of a “short, limited” delay, but is herself opposed, warning that eventually MPs will have to make a decision about Britain’s future.
Any delay would have to be approved by the other 27 EU leaders, who are next meeting at a Brussels summit on March 21/22 – a week before Brexit day.
Senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry told The Times on Saturday that her party would back a short delay to Brexit, but not beyond July.
Labour has held out the possibility of backing a second referendum that might reverse Brexit.
But Thornberry rejected speculation that it would back a plan to agree to May’s deal on the condition of holding a public vote.

Key dates in what could be a momentous week
Monday, March 11
May could go to Brussels to finalise any changes she has secured to the Brexit deal relating to the so-called Irish backstop.
The EU has refused to reopen the text but is offering further guarantees about the operation of the backstop, an arrangement to keep open Britain’s border with Ireland.
The deadline is Monday night when May must put down a motion in the House of Commons to allow MPs to vote on the deal on Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 12
The House of Commons votes again on May’s deal, just over two months after rejecting it on January 15 by 432 votes to 202.
May will open the debate, from around 12:45 GMT (8:45pm Hong Kong time), and votes are expected from 1900 GMT (3am Hong Kong time Wednesday).
Wednesday, March 13
If the deal is rejected, MPs will vote on whether Britain should leave the European Union on March 29 without any deal at all.
Thursday, March 14
If MPs reject a “no deal” exit, they will vote on whether to seek from the European Union a “short, limited” delay to Brexit.
May has mentioned the possibility of a three-month extension, ending before the new European Parliament meets for the first time in early July.
T hursday, March 21
EU leaders, including May, gather for their final summit in Brussels before Britain’s scheduled departure.
Friday, March 29
Britain leaves the European Union, unless the process is formally delayed – or revoked, an option nobody is discussing.


Starmer urges Europe to deepen interdependence amid Trump threats

Britain’s surging Reform UK party draws big-name Tory defector

UK rejoins Erasmus student exchange programme in post-Brexit reset under PM Keir Starmer

US-UK deal slashes tariffs on medicines, boosting NHS spending

Brexit

Decision time: crunch week ahead as Theresa May’s Brexit deal returns to parliament

FILE PHOTO: The Big Ben bell tower on the Houses of Parliament is visible through a shaped foil balloon as demonstrators protest during a "March for Europe" against the Brexit vote result earlier in the year, in London, Britain, September 3, 2016. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo

epa07418901 (01/66) A close-up view of a Brexit inspired mural by anonymous British street artist Banksy depicting the European flag in Dover, Britain, 15 February 2019. The graffiti that appeared on a building near Dover's ferry terminal shows a worker removing one of the 12 stars from the EU flag. The Port of Dover, handling up to 10.000 trucks a day, estimated that no-deal Brexit can lead to almost 30 kilometers (17 miles) long lines to the customs. Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019, two years after Prime Minister Theresa May invoked Article 50, the mechanism to notify the EU of her country's intention to abandon the member's club after the tightly-contested 2016 referendum. The results of that referendum exposed a divided nation. Leave won, claiming 52 percent of the overall vote. Voters in England and Wales came out in favor of leave, while Scotland and Northern Ireland plumped for remain. It was still unclear on what terms the UK would leave the EU

Britain’s PM Theresa May warned that rejecting her deal again would create a ‘moment of crisis’. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Europe

If the UK Parliament rejects Theresa May’s deal again, lawmakers will vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement on March 29 or to ask the EU to delay Brexit


British MPs will vote again on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, making the historic decision whether to back her plan or risk a chaotic exit from the EU in less than three weeks.


Theresa May

Decision time: crunch week ahead as Theresa May’s Brexit deal returns to parliament

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}If the UK Parliament rejects Theresa May’s deal again, lawmakers will vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement on March 29 or to ask the EU to delay Brexit

If the UK Parliament rejects Theresa May’s deal again, lawmakers will vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement on March 29 or to ask the EU to delay Brexit