Britain’s Parliament has spoken — and it has said no, again.
Lawmakers seeking a way out of the country’s Brexit morass on Monday rejected four alternatives to the government’s unpopular European Union divorce deal that would have softened or even halted Britain’s departure.
With just 12 days until the UK must come up with a new plan or crash out of the bloc in chaos, the House of Commons threw out four alternatives to Prime Minister Theresa May’s thrice-rejected Brexit deal — though in some cases by a whisker.
The result leaves the government with a range of unpalatable choices. It can gamble on a fourth attempt to push May’s unloved deal through Parliament, let Britain tumble out of the bloc without a deal, or roll the dice by opting for a snap election to shake up Parliament.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s top Brexit official, tweeted that a no-deal Brexit was “nearly inevitable.” He said a series of votes on Wednesday, would be “a last chance to break the deadlock or face the abyss.”
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the government would continue to seek support for a “credible” plan for leaving the EU.
“This house has continuously rejected leaving without a deal just as it has rejected not leaving at all,” he said. “Therefore the only option is to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal.”
May has summoned her Cabinet for a marathon meeting Tuesday to thrash out the options. The prime minister, who is renowned for her dogged determination, could try to bring her Brexit agreement back for a fourth time later this week.
The narrowest defeat — 276 votes to 273 — was for a plan to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU, guaranteeing smooth and tariff-free trade in goods. A motion that went further, calling for Britain to stay in the EU’s borderless single market for both goods and services, was defeated 282-261.
A third proposal calling for any Brexit deal Britain strikes with the EU to be put to a public referendum was defeated 292-280.
The fourth, which would let Britain cancel Brexit if it came within two days of crashing out of the bloc without a deal, fell by a wider margin, 292-191
May had already ruled out all the ideas under consideration. But the divorce deal she negotiated with the EU has been rejected by Parliament three times, leaving Britain facing a no-deal Brexit that could cause turmoil for people and businesses on both sides of the Channel.
The impasse is raising expectations that lawmakers could try to trigger a snap election in the hope a new configuration in Parliament would break the Brexit logjam. But the Conservatives are worried that could hand power to the opposition Labour Party.
The range of choices, and lack of consensus, reflect a Parliament and a government deeply divided over how — and whether — to leave the EU.
None of the alternative options to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan has managed to receive the support of a majority of lawmakers, prolonging the political deadlock in the UK.
Motion C, Customs Union, which called for a commitment to negotiate a “permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU,” lost by 276 to 273 votes.
Motion D, Common Market 2.0, which asked for continued participation in the single market and a “comprehensive customs arrangement” with the EU after Brexit, lost by 282 to 261 votes.
Motion E, which asked for a public vote to confirm any Brexit deal passed by parliament before its ratification, also lost on Monday night by 292 to 280 votes.
Motion G, which urged revoking Article 50 in the face of a no-deal Brexit, lost by 292 to 191 votes.
After yet another attempt by the British PM failed to break the Brexit impasse, the UK now increasingly risks crashing out of the EU on April 12 without a deal. The UK lawmakers are set to hold another round of so-called “indicative votes” on Wednesday, before EU leaders hold an emergency summit on April 10 to consider London's request for an extension of Article 50.
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