British MPs reject no-deal Brexit under any circumstances
Vote planned for Thursday on delaying Brexit, but EU’s Michel Barnier warns that the EU wants clear reason for delay
London — British MPs on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected leaving the European Union without a deal, paving the way for a vote to delay Brexit to seek a way out of Britain’s worst political crisis in generations. MPs voted by 312 to 308 in favour of a cross-party motion that ruled out a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit under any circumstances. It went further than the government’s own planned motion, which noted that parliament did not want to leave without a deal on March 29 and that the default legal position was to leave without a deal unless one was ratified by parliament. While the approved motion has no legal force and ultimately may not prevent a no-deal exit after a possible delay, it carries considerable political force. After two-and-a-half years of negotiations and two failed attempts to pass a Brexit deal proposed by May, the vote against a no-deal exit still leaves undecided how, when and on what terms Britain will leave the club it joined in 1973. After legislator...
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