UK Parliament agrees Brexit may need to be delayed, but not much

LONDON – While Britain must leave the EU within 30 days, Parliament on Wednesday approved Prime Minister Theresa May's concession that if lawmakers can not agree on an agreement aimed at breaking ties with the continent, Brexit could be delayed.

But beyond a consensus on a possible postponement, the blockage that has seized the British political clbad has continued.

Last month, lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the 585-page withdrawal agreement signed last May, negotiated over two years with its European counterparts. May has not yet managed to soften the deal.

On Wednesday, Parliament voted decisively against the one-page sketch of the Brexit plan proposed by the opposition Labor Party and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Labor's vision for a mild Brexit would have seen Britain remain closely aligned with US customs, tariff and regulatory regimes and the continent's single market. Such a relationship would have meant that Britain would continue to allow US migrants to live and work in the United Kingdom, while withdrawing from the EU. legislature.

The British Parliament's rejection of the widely anticipated Labor plan prompted Corbyn, reluctant, to support a new public vote on Brexit.

While he feared further defections in his ranks, the Labor Party announced earlier this week that it would support a second referendum if its own proposal regarding Brexit was rejected.

Corbyn confirmed Wednesday night in a statement: "We will support a public vote to avoid a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous outcome without agreement."

While the impetus for a second referendum has grown in recent months – and supporters have invaded Westminster on Wednesday – it is unclear how many lawmakers really want to let themselves.

A second referendum would enrage a part of the British public, including many pro-Brexit protesters outside Parliament on Wednesday, with some holding placards stating "Let the means go" and "Brexit meaning Brexit – no blackmail".

While British lawmakers acknowledged that they may have asked Brussels to allow a deadline, European leaders have warned that an extension would not be automatic.

At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron said that a delay in Brexit should be "justified" by "new British choices," suggesting that the government May should indicate where all this is headed – compared to asking for more time just because they are stuck.

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