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| Theresa May's Brexit deal was defeated in a historic vote in parliament (AFP Photo/PRU) |
London (AFP) - British MPs resoundingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time on Tuesday, plunging the country into further uncertainty just 17 days before it is due to split from the European Union.
The House
of Commons voted 391-242 against the divorce deal, even after May secured
further guarantees from Brussels over its most controversial elements.
The move
risks unleashing economic chaos, as Britain is scheduled to end ties with its
biggest trade partner after 46 years on March 29, no matter what.
Appearing
before MPs in a voice half-breaking due to a cold, May defiantly vowed to fight
on, saying she "profoundly" rejected the outcome.
"The
deal we've negotiated is the best and indeed the only deal," she told the
hushed chamber moments after the vote.
May
promised to allow MPs to vote on a "no deal" option on Wednesday and,
if that is rejected as expected, to decide on Thursday whether to ask the EU to
delay Brexit.
She said
parliament faced "unenviable choices" if it voted for an extension,
including revoking Brexit, holding a second referendum or leaving with another
deal.
However, eurosceptics believe the current deal is so bad that it is worth the risk of leaving with no plan.
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Anit-Brexit
activists rallied outside parliament ahead of the vote (AFP Photo/Tolga AKMEN)
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However, eurosceptics believe the current deal is so bad that it is worth the risk of leaving with no plan.
The latest
vote comes two years after Britain set the clock ticking on its departure from
the EU following a highly divisive referendum in 2016.
Michel
Barnier, the EU chief Brexit negotiator, said Brussels had nothing more to
offer and must now brace for the possibility of a messy divorce.
"The
EU has done everything it can to help get the Withdrawal Agreement over the
line," Barnier tweeted.
"The
impasse can only be solved in the #UK. Our 'no-deal' preparations are now more
important than ever before."
But a
spokeswoman for European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said EU members
would consider a "reasoned request" for a Brexit delay.
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Result of
the March 12 Brexit vote in
the UK parliament (AFP Photo/AFP)
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Jeremy
Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party who has been trying force
snap elections, said May must now admit that her government's overarching
strategy had failed.
"Their
deal, their proposal, the one the prime minister's put, is clearly dead,"
Corbyn said, calling on her to change negotiate for a softer Brexit to keep
close economies ties with the EU.
Not a
single change
After MPs
first rejected the 585-page Brexit deal in January, May promised changes to the
hated backstop plan which is intended to keep open the border with EU member
Ireland.
Weeks of
talks failed to make a breakthrough, but May made a last-minute trip to
Strasbourg to meet EU leaders on the eve of the vote.
She
announced she had secured the promised "legally binding changes" to
the backstop, which would keep Britain in the EU's customs union if and until a
new way was found to avoid frontier checks.
Hours later, however, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said the additions would not completely allay MPs fears of being trapped in the arrangement forever.
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Defeat for
May's motion sets up further votes on the alternatives (AFP Photo)
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Hours later, however, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said the additions would not completely allay MPs fears of being trapped in the arrangement forever.
It did not
take long for Brexit-supporting MPs in May's Conservative party, and her
allies, Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), to declare their
opposition.
Some
eurosceptics did change their mind, urging their colleagues not to risk
everything.
Former
minister Edward Leigh said: "You may not like the deal, it's not perfect,
but it delivers Brexit and let's go for it."
But the
margin of Tuesday's defeat was not substantially smaller than the 230-vote
thumping the plan suffered on January 15.
The pound,
which has been highly volatile since the 2016 referendum, initially rose after
the vote but then sank against both the euro and dollar.
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Timeline of
what could happen next in the make-or-break Brexit votes
(AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)
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'No third
chance'
The
backstop is designed to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland, which
involved the removal of border checks with EU member Ireland.
Brexit
supporters wanted a unilateral way out of it, or a time limit to the
arrangement, but the EU said this would make it worthless.
But leaders
across Europe also united behind a message that this was the best and final
offer Britain could expect.
"There
will be no third chance," Juncker said after his talks on Monday with May.
If MPs vote
against a no-deal exit on Wednesday, and want to postpone Brexit, the other 27
EU nations would need to agree.
Their
leaders will meet in Brussels for a summit on March 21-22.
But any
postponement may have to be short-lived.
Juncker on
Monday said Brexit "should be complete before the European elections"
at the end of May.
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