Brexit deal goes out the window

In 10 weeks, the United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union. And yet, the UK Parliament just threw out the Brexit deal.

Last Tuesday, Theresa May’s Brexit deal suffered a crushing defeat in Parliament, with a record vote of 432 to 202. Critics of the deal included members of both the Labour and Conservative parties. One faction of the Conservative party has consistently advocated for a no-deal exit, in which the UK withdraws from the EU without a transition plan in place. They have also criticized Theresa May’s “backstop,” a plan to keep the UK in the EU’s single market and customs union until 2020. This would essentially allow the UK to remain under EU trade laws, thus preventing a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland until a better plan can be enacted. Another point of discontent for some members is a clause allowing EU citizens living in the UK or vice versa to retain their rights and apply to remain in the country.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Labour party has been pushing for the UK to remain permanently in the customs union — whether this means negotiating a new Brexit deal or simply choosing to stay in the EU. In fact, members of both parties have been calling for a second referendum which would give voters the choice to remain in the EU.

Despite many politicians stating that they anticipate a second referendum in the near future, Theresa May has vehemently denied the possibility. In their frustration, the Labour party called for a vote of no-confidence last Wednesday in an attempt to remove May. However, the vote failed 325 to 306.

May is now tasked with creating a new deal by Monday. However, leaders of the European Commission have made it clear that they are unwilling to make further concessions, and they released the following statement: “We regret the outcome of the vote, and urge the U.K. government to clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps as soon as possible.” If May cannot negotiate a new deal, the other possibility is to try to push back the withdrawal date. This would require approval from the other 27 EU members and allow both the EU and UK to avoid a potentially disastrous no-deal exit.

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Kennedy Salamat of Montgomery Blair High School