London: The British parliament will try to find an alternative to Theresa May’s twice-defeated Brexit deal on Wednesday as the prime minister readied a last ditch effort to win over rebels in her party, possibly by giving a timetable for quitting.
As the United Kingdom’s three-year Brexit crisis spins towards its finale, it is still uncertain how, when or even if it will leave the European Union, though May hopes to bring her deal back to parliament later this week.
With British politics at fever pitch, lawmakers on Wednesday grab control to have so-called indicative votes on Brexit, with 16 options ranging from a much closer alignment with the EU to leaving without a deal or revoking the divorce papers.
Just two days before the United Kingdom had been originally due to leave the EU on March 29, some of the most influential Brexit-supporting rebels, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, have reluctantly fallen in behind May’s deal.
The price for May could be her job, though it was unclear if even that would be enough to get her deal approved.
“We can guarantee delivering on Brexit if this week he and others in this House support the deal,” May told Andrew Bridgen, a Brexit-supporting lawmaker in her party who has called on her to resign.
It had been uncertain whether May would bring her deal back to parliament this week, having said she would only do so if it had sufficient support.
She is expected to indicate a date for her departure at a showdown with Conservative Party lawmakers at a meeting of the 1922 Committee in Westminster at around 1700 GMT.
Before that, lawmakers start a debate on what sort of EU divorce the world’s fifth largest economy should go for. They will vote at 1900 GMT on a ballot paper for as many proposals as they wish. Results will be announced after 2100 GMT.
