Brexit vote latest: UK Parliament crushes May’s EU deal again

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Brexit vote latest: UK Parliament crushes May’s EU deal again
Reuters

An opposition Labour Party spokesman said this meant she had "given up any pretence of leading the country".

By Agencies

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Published: Tue 12 Mar 2019, 10:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 13 Mar 2019, 1:52 PM

After months of Brexit deadlock were broken by a flurry of last-minute diplomacy, it's finally decision day for Prime Minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal.
With Britain scheduled to leave the European Union in less than three weeks, UK lawmakers are poised to choose the country's immediate direction from among three starkly different choices: deal, no deal or delay.
The Latest on Brexit (all times local):
12:50pm
Ireland’s position that it will not make plans for managing its border with Northern Ireland in a no-deal Brexit until such an outcome emerges remains unchanged after Britain outlined its plans, European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said.
 “We have always said what our plan is, and that if it came to the stage where a no-deal was the only likely outcome, then we would need to engage with our colleagues in the UK but also with the UK. Not after a no-deal, this is when it has became apparent that a no-deal is the only likely option,” McEntee told national broadcaster RTE.

11:08am

Britain must tell the European Union what it wants from an agreement on its exit from the bloc, Germany’s Europe minister said on Wednesday after London’s parliament rejected a negotiated withdrawal agreement for the second time.

“We are at the very limits of what’s bearable,” Michael Roth told Deutschlandfunk radio. “We have already changed the exit agreement once to suit Britain... We are open and prepared to talk but we aren’t getting any clear views from Britain on what they want, only what they don’t want.”

6:50am

Nigel Farage, the British politician who became the public face of anti-European Union sentiment in the run-up to a 2016 Brexit referendum, thinks the country's departure date could be pushed back by a year.
Farage said during an interview with The Associated Press after Parliament voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's latest divorce deal with the EU on Tuesday that the U.K.'s political chaos and EU's upcoming legislative elections preclude a smooth withdrawal any time soon.
Farage said: "Let's be realistic. We've got a new European Parliament coming in...."I don't see the next phase of (Brexit) negotiations even starting until November. So I would say that the extension, realistically, has to be a year."
He says he'd rather not go through another campaign, but 'If we've got to fight more European elections, I will fight them."
6:30am
The European Union says the British Parliament's rejection of a revised divorce deal "has significantly increased the likelihood of a 'no-deal' Brexit."
The EU and its 27 other member countries said in a statement Tuesday night after the House of Commons voted 391 to 242 against the latest withdrawal deal that they "have done all that is possible to reach an agreement." 
The statement says the European Commission and EU members will continue to prepare for Brexit happening without a deal in place and "ensure that we will be ready if such a scenario arises" on March 29. 
 The EU says it will "expect a credible justification" if the UK asks to postpone its departure.
Wednesday, 12:02am 
British lawmakers crushingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's deal to quit the European Union on March 12, thrusting Brexit into turmoil just 17 days before the planned departure date.
Lawmakers voted against May's amended Brexit deal by 391 to 242 as her last-minute talks with EU chiefs on Monday (March 11) to assuage her critics' concerns ultimately proved fruitless.
11:46pm 
British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn on March 12 declared the Brexit deal "dead" after it was voted down by a massive margin of MPs, and called on the government to adopt his proposals for a softer Brexit.
"Their deal, their proposal, the one the prime minister's put is clearly dead," the Labour Party leader told parliament.
11:33pm
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned British lawmakers on March 12 against the "dangerous illusion" that they could benefit from a transition period even without a proper divorce deal.
As British MPs prepared to vote on the deal struck by Prime Minister Theresa May, Barnier made a dramatic late intervention on Twitter to stress that Brussels would not agree to interim arrangements to cushion the blow of a no-deal Brexit.


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