British Prime Minister Theresa May was dealt another humiliating defeat on Thursday as lawmakers voted against the latest incarnation of her Brexit plan.
While the vote was merely symbolic, parliament’s refusal to back May’s strategy for talks with the European Union represented another setback for the government as it attempts to renegotiate the terms of its Brexit deal with the EU.
Lawmakers voted 303 to 258 against a motion to endorse May’s current approach to the talks, which include renegotiating the Irish backstop — a contentious part of the deal — along with a non-binding amendment to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
Both measures had previously been approved by parliament. But the inclusion of the latter amendment prompted hardline Brexiteers in May’s Conservative party to abstain from Thursday’s vote, as voting in favor of the motion would have implied that they approve of ruling out a scenario in which Britain crashes out of Europe on March 29 without a deal.
The defeat will further undermine May’s pledge to the EU that if it renegotiates its deal with Britain, she can get a revised agreement approved by parliament.
“Tonight’s vote shows there is no majority for the Prime Minister’s course of action in dealing with Brexit,” opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said, adding that he was surprised May did not stick around to answer questions after the vote.
“She cannot just keep on just running down the clock and hoping that something will turn up that will save her day and save her face,” Corbyn added.
A Downing Street spokesman countered that Corbyn had made a no-deal Brexit more likely by voting against the government’s motion.
“The Prime Minister continues to believe, and the debate itself indicated, that far from objecting to securing changes to the backstop that will allow us to leave with a deal, there was a concern from some Conservative colleagues about taking no deal off the table at this stage,” the spokesman said in a statement.
But negotiations with the EU on the backstop — an insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland — are likely to be complicated by Thursday’s vote.
EU diplomats dealing with Brexit told CNN they didn’t need the vote to tell them May doesn’t command a majority in parliament, but that the latest defeat had underlined that reality.
There is growing frustration in Brussels with May, who is seen as a less reliable negotiating partner by the day.
“She’s trying appeasement but it’s just not working. You would think there should be a moment she has to sacrifice party unity to ensure safe landing for her country. But [I] doubt she will, hoping eventually the EU moves in the end,” one EU diplomat told CNN.
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