What happens next after PM May loses vote on her Brexit deal?
Last updated on: 16 January,2019 07:34 pm
The House of Commons lower house voted 432 to 202 against May's plan.
(Web Desk) – Britain parliament on Tuesday (yesterday) rejected Prime Minister Theresa May s Brexit deal by a massive margin, triggering a no confidence vote that could bring down her government.
The House of Commons lower house voted 432 to 202 against May s plan for taking Britain out of the European Union after nearly five decades, one of the biggest defeats ever suffered by a British premier.
Moments after the outcome, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn submitted a motion of no-confidence in May s government.
Today (Wednesday), opposition leader from Labour party Jeremy Corbyn opens Prime Minister’s Questions with a tongue-in-cheek apology to the House, saying that last night he described Theresa May’s defeat on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement as the biggest government defeat since the 1920s.
Voting on the no-confidence motion is underway but what will happen after this voting is here.
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 sets the interval between general elections at five years. At the end of this time a new House of Commons must be elected.
If May’s government loses a confidence vote and Labour is unable to form a new government, an election is called. May could also call a general election herself if two-thirds of MPs in parliament agree to it. May has said that a general election is not in the national interest.
If PM May counters the opposition s motion then she has another option to hold another voting on the same or changed agreement. If parliament fails to reach at any result or agreement then Britain will leave the European Union (EU) without any deal after 11 PM on March 29, 2019.
However, the government has another option to extend the negotiating period with the EU to give it time to try to reach a better deal, hold a general election, or conduct a second referendum.
The government could also withdraw its notice of intention to leave the EU, which the European Court of Justice has ruled it can do without consent of other EU countries.
May has said she does not want to delay Britain’s exit from the EU, and will not revoke the notice of intention to leave
"Govt can hold another referendum but it has to make some amendments in the article 50 but a time span of 22 weeks required for this," say political analysts.