Thursday April 25, 2024

No deal Brexit fully ruled out by British parliament

Published : 13 Mar 2019, 22:39

  DF-Xinhua Report
Photo taken on March 12, 2019 shows the Brexit Deal vote in the House of Commons in London, Britain. File Photo Xinhua.

No-deal Brexit was completely ruled out on Wednesday night by the British parliament in a vote which led to a second government defeat in less than one hour.

British lawmakers voted by a margin of 43 to confirm their decision to reject any no deal Brexit.

MPs also voted by a margin of 210 to reject an amendment which calls on the British government to pursue a managed no-deal Brexit on May 22.

The result came just minutes after MPs voted by 312 to 308 to reject a no-deal Brexit at any time in the wake of Tuesday night's shattering defeat of the Brexit deal of British Prime Minister Theresa May.

May, still speaking with a hoarse voice in the parliament, warned of lengthy Brexit delay if MPs are not willing to support her Brexit deal.

The British government has lost by four votes on Wednesday night as MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit in a non-binding vote, which does not rule out Britain leaving the European Union on March 29.

But it means MPs could now get a vote on delaying Brexit. The vote is expected to take place on Thursday.

In Brussels, EU leaders demanded a "clear answer" about what Britain wants and were preparing to take a hard line if, as widely expected, the prime minister asks for a postponement of Brexit.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, insisted there will be no further offer from Brussels apart from the deal already on the table.

Earlier Wednesday, British Chancellor Philip Hammond has signaled his backing for a cross-party consensus over Brexit.

He told MPs they had "a solemn duty in the days ahead to put aside our differences and seek a compromise".