Brexit has been postponed

The UK was once scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019. Now that Prime Minister Theresa May’s calls for a Brexit delay were answered, however, the future of Brexit remains to be seen. 

After a disastrous vote in January, Theresa May brought a revised deal to Parliament two weeks ago. However, the outcome of the second vote was similar to that of the first, as Parliament struck down the deal 391 to 242. To complicate matters, John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, cited an ancient law which may prevent May from holding any further votes on her deal within the next few weeks. The law, which was created in 1604, states that a matter which “has been decided during a session may not be brought forward again during the same session.” Essentially, May’s deal would need to be significantly altered before she could legally bring it back before Parliament for a vote.

In response to the looming deadline, Parliament also voted to indefinitely delay Brexit 413 to 202. Now that a delay has been granted, May must decide by mid-April whether the UK will leave the EU before June 30 or Brexit will occur in 2020. This timeline is rigid because EU elections will take place in late May and the UK will need to hold elections if it is to remain in the EU past July 1, 2019. The EU’s decision regarding the Brexit delay may be made as late as March 28 in an emergency summit.

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