Theresa May wants her opposition's help to build a new Brexit deal. Here's why they said no.
Brexit just keeps getting even more complicated.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to pull Britain out of the E.U. failed spectacularly Tuesday, leaving her Conservative Party scrambling to formulate a new deal for leaving the coalition. A vote on that yet unrevealed "Plan B" is scheduled for Jan. 29, but May wants a little help from her opposition before that happens, Al Jazeera reports.
In Tuesday's Parliament vote, Labour Party MPs and even May's Conservative colleagues resoundingly voted down the prime minister's slow Brexit pullout, 432-202. May will have to win back those defectors to formulate a deal before the country's scheduled March 29 exit. Otherwise, the country will depart without a deal, postpone its departure, or schedule a second referendum on Brexit.
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May has since asked for the opposition party's help in figuring things out. But Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is telling his party not to talk unless "the threat of a disastrous no-deal outcome is ruled out," he said Thursday, per Reuters. Corbyn has also said he'd consider a second Brexit referendum. Seeing as a no-deal Brexit could throw Britain's trade deals into chaos, May isn't pushing for that option like some of her party colleagues. But she also won't postpone the departure or allow another referendum, leaving the whole debacle in very shaky territory.
Regardless, a vote on May's next Brexit plan is slated for Jan. 29, House of Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said Thursday, per Reuters. That doesn't leave much time for the opposing parties to get talking, especially since Leadsom said May would discuss her next steps on Monday. Read more about what comes next at Al Jazeera.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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