Theresa May only had one Brexit deal that she’s been working on for the last two years to allow the country to get out of the EU, and it just got decimated in the British parliament by a vote of 432 to 202:
POLITICO – British MPs rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal by a record-breaking 230 votes, shrouding the U.K.’s path out of the European Union with doubt.
The vote in the House of Commons — 432 against and 202 for — means that the Withdrawal Agreement struck between May’s government and the EU in November last year has fallen at the first hurdle.
With the U.K. legally required to leave the EU on March 29, May now has no choice but to return to Brussels seeking further talks on an agreement that she calls the “only deal” that can deliver on the June 2016 referendum result while also avoiding an economically damaging no-deal break from the EU.
Apparently the deal isn’t good enough for both pro-Brexit and pro-Remain supporters, according to the National Review:
May has struggled in recent months to overcome opposition from pro-Brexit lawmakers, who have cast her deal as a betrayal of the voters’ will that would leave Britain beholden to key E.U. trade regulations, and from the pro-Remain opposition, which has pushed for a second referendum to be administered now that voters have a greater understanding of the negative economic implications of Brexit.
March 29 comes soon and right now there is no deal. If May can’t work out a deal, here’s the likely option of the parliament:
In response to the historic defeat, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a vote of no confidence, which, if passed, would oust May and give Corbyn a chance to form a new government. If Corbyn’s bid to become prime minister then failed to gain the support of a majority of MPs within 14 days, Parliament would dissolve and a new general election would be held.
According to iNews in the UK, here’s what would happen if they can’t reach a deal:
A “no deal” Brexit does what it says on the tin. It means the UK and the EU would be unable to reach a withdrawal agreement.
If no agreement can be made, it means there would be no 21-month transition period.
If that was the case, consumers, businesses and public bodies would have to respond immediately to changes as result of leaving the EU.
“On 29 March next year, the UK would leave the EU and everything associated with that would come to an end,” says Dr Simon Usherwood, a reader in politics at the University of Surrey. “[A no deal] doesn’t stop the UK leaving but it means there is absolutely no clarity about what happens.”
While it is a possibility, in reality neither the UK nor the EU would favour a no deal because it signals a poor political relationship, he adds.
One of the key issues with a no deal scenario is the uncertainty it would lead to for life and work in Britain.
According to the National Review, this no-deal scenario “would likely result in massive political and economic upheaval”.
At this point, that looks to be exactly what they are headed for.