British Government Survives No-Confidence Vote

Simon Veazey
1/16/2019
Updated:
1/16/2019

LONDON—The British government will limp on through the Brexit fray, after parrying a potentially fatal vote of no-confidence that was launched after lawmakers savaged Prime Minister Theresa May’s European Union divorce agreement.

Just one day before, 118 conservative lawmakers rebelled against their own ruling party to create the largest ever parliamentary defeat for a government, throwing the Brexit process once again into disarray.

But this time, on Jan. 16, May’s own party locked shields to protect her tiny majority, averting the potential dissolution of her government just 72 days before the UK leaves the EU, with no deal currently in place.

The vote of no-confidence, won 325–306 in favor of the government, was tabled by the Labour opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a no-confidence debate after Parliament rejected her Brexit deal, in London on Jan. 16, 2019. (Reuters/File Photo)
British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a no-confidence debate after Parliament rejected her Brexit deal, in London on Jan. 16, 2019. (Reuters/File Photo)

British lawmakers are currently deadlocked over the UK’s divorce deal with the EU as the clock counts down to Brexit day on March 29.

In June 2016, the British people voted 52–48 to leave the EU in a national referendum. But the EU and UK are not yet divorced, still bound by treaty ties for a two-year separation period reserved for negotiating an annulment deal.

That divorce settlement was wrapped up in November but needs the approval of the British parliament, which is divided over Brexit.

The deal was finally put to lawmakers on Jan. 15. They rejected it by 432 to 202 votes, paradoxically increasing the likelihood of both the most hardcore Brexit—no deal—and of no Brexit at all.

Many Brexit-supporting lawmakers can’t stomach the terms of the deal that guarantee no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. They claim it will make the UK a “vassal state” of the EU.

The European Union told Britain it could have a different kind of  deal—but only if May changes key demands.

Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said, “I think and I fear that we are headed on a path toward delay and probably, yes, a second vote.”

Before the March 29 deadline, the UK can pull out of Brexit without EU approval—something May has repeatedly ruled out.

In theory, current legislation and policy put the UK on a non-stop, single-line track out of the EU. If no deal has been agreed by March 29, then the UK still leaves, but on World Trade Organization terms—the no-deal Brexit that has spooked markets.

But many lawmakers are looking for ways to overturn government policy and refit that legislation with brakes and a reverse gear.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Simon Veazey is a UK-based journalist who has reported for The Epoch Times since 2006 on various beats, from in-depth coverage of British and European politics to web-based writing on breaking news.
twitter
Related Topics