UK Parliament votes down Prime Minister May's EU divorce deal

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English | 15-01-19 | 14:51 | Reuters | Actualizada | 15-01-19 | 15:20 |

Redacción El Universal

Two-and-a-half years after Britain voted to leave the European Union , and just 73 days before it is formally due to depart, parliament had its say on the Brexit deal .

GOVERNMENT DEFEAT: The House of Commons has rejected the Government's #BrexitDeal in the #MeaningfulVote.

The Commons voted 432 to 202 - a majority of 230.#BrexitVote pic.twitter.com/iSyyyqCJ4a
— UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) January 15, 2019

The Labour party was expected to respond to May’s defeat by calling a vote of confidence in the government.

A motion of no confidence in the Government, put down by .@jeremycorbyn, will be debated and voted on tomorrow following tonight's Government defeat. Read our explainer - published last December - for info on how no confidence motions work https://t.co/QQouiNG6Fm
— Commons Library (@commonslibrary) January 15, 2019

If the Prime Minister survives, that would at least eliminate the possibility of an early election .

If Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accepts that he cannot win power, he may then endorse a softer Brexit or another referendum .

Either way, parliament seems set to exert greater control over May’s hapless government.

Barring an extension to the March 29 deadline , however, Britain will crash out of the European Union without a deal unless an alternative plan secures a majority in parliament. To reach a consensus, lawmakers need to rule out less viable alternatives. They don’t have much time.

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