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A divided UK House votes on Brexit deal late tonight: What’s at stake for PM Theresa May
Currency markets, industry bodies and others are logged into Westminster, following every move in parliament where the future of a symbiotic relationship since 1973 - when the UK joined the EU - will be determined.
Bruising headlines greeted Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday morning as a bitterly divided United Kingdom awaited the crunch vote in the House of Commons in the evening – considered the most important since the Second World War.
At stake is the future of one of the largest economies in the world and the global reputation of a country that until recently sat at the top table to influence the European Union.
Currency markets, industry bodies and others are logged into Westminster, following every move in parliament where the future of a symbiotic relationship since 1973 - when the UK joined the EU - will be determined.
Also at stake is the future of May as the prime minister, when MPs begin to vote on the 599-page withdrawal agreement that she reached with Brussels after nearly three years of tough talks. The result is expected around 8 pm UK time (1.30 am India time).
The Guardian’s view on May’s Brexit deal is that it is “dead before the vote”, reflecting the popular consensus that it had no hope of being endorsed by MPs. The only detail that remains, according to this perception, is the scale of defeat.
A loss by over 100 votes will put more pressure on May to consider her position. A series of events are likely to follow such a result: Labour tabling a no-confidence motion, May forced to reveal Plan B, return to Brussels for further talks, another election or referendum, and so forth.
Constant commentary on Brexit has generated much ennui among the public on both sides of the divide; the 2016 referendum result was close: 51.9 per cent voted to leave the EU and 48.1 per cent to stay in the EU.
There is little sign of a shift of preference since the referendum, and MPs reiterated their contending positions on Tuesday morning as strongly as ever before the news media.
‘Crushing defeat’, ‘humiliation’, ‘historic defeat’ figured in headlines, while some tabloids sounded a sober note: ‘Time to put your country first’ (Daily Mail), ‘Don’t lose our trust forever’ (Daily Express) and ‘History will ask…did we deliver Brexit?’ (Metro).
May held a meeting of the cabinet before the Brexit debate resumed in the House of Commons in the afternoon. She was due to close the debate before the vote is held around 7 pm UK time. Pro and anti-Brexit supporters staged noisy demonstrations outside parliament.
