London: British lawmakers have voted on eight different possible Brexit options, but none received the majority support that would clarify the U.K.'s course.
Parliament is trying to find an alternative to Prime Minister Theresa May's twice-rejected EU divorce deal.
Lawmakers voted on Wednesday on options that included leaving the European Union without a deal, staying in the bloc's customs union and single market, putting any EU divorce deal to a public referendum, and canceling Brexit if the prospect of a no-deal departure gets close. The strongest support was for a plan to stay in a customs union with the bloc after Brexit, which was defeated by eight votes: 272-264.
Lawmakers plan to narrow the list of options down and hold more votes on Monday. Britain has until April 12 to find a new plan or crash out of the EU without a deal.
A Northern Ireland party that props up May's government says it won't support her divorce deal, a blow to May's hopes of winning approval for the agreement in Parliament.
The Democratic Unionist Party said Wednesday it won't support the deal because of a provision designed keep an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland after Brexit.
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The pro-British Unionist party opposes the provision because it fears it would weaken the bonds between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said, “We cannot sign up to something that would damage the Union.” May wants to try again to get her twice-rejected Brexit deal through Parliament. Many pro-Brexit lawmakers have said they will back it, but only if the DUP agrees.
Britain's former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, a longtime foe of Prime Minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal, now plans to vote for it. Conservative lawmaker Conor Burns, an ally of Johnson's, said the former foreign secretary told a meeting that he would back the deal. The shift came soon after May told Conservative Party lawmakers that she will step down if her twice-rejected deal is approved and Britain leaves the European Union.
