UK Parliament tries multiple choice as May puts job on line

London, March 27 

The British Parliament tried to find an alternative to Theresa May’s twice-defeated Brexit deal on Wednesday as the Prime Minister promised lawmakers she will stand down if they back her deal, in a last-ditch effort to try to win over dozens of rebels within her Conservative party.

While her departure would not alter the terms of that withdrawal agreement, it could give Conservative eurosceptics who have opposed it a greater say in negotiating the terms of Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

While May was addressing her lawmakers in a committee room, MPs in the main chamber debated eight Brexit options ranging from leaving abruptly with no deal to revoking the divorce or holding a new referendum.

Lawmakers had voted on Monday to grab control of the Brexit process for a day in a bid to break the impasse. Several options would see much closer alignment with the EU than May envisages, including staying in the single market or a customs union.

In the “indicative vote”, MPs can support as many proposals as they wish. “This is not about the number of votes precisely cast for one motion or another,” said Oliver Letwin, a 62-year-old Conservative former cabinet minister who has led Parliament’s unusual power grab. “It’s about whether, when we look at the results as a whole, ... we get enough data to enable us to have sensible conversations about where we can go next.” If May passes her deal this week, he said Parliament’s attempt to find an alternative would stop.

The uncertainty around Britain's most significant political and economic move since World War Two, has left allies and investors aghast.  Supporters of Brexit say that, while the divorce might bring short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive. Opponents say it will leave Britain poorer and weaker, cut off from its main trade partners. Most voters think the negotiation has been handled badly and there may now be a slight majority for staying in the EU, recent polls suggest.

Many Conservative MPs say May herself has caused the chaos over Brexit by not negotiating harder with the EU. — Agencies

Leadership contest may begin after May 22 

• A leadership contest to replace British PM Theresa May will begin after May 22 if her deal to leave the European Union is passed by Parliament, her office told Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday
• In a statement to lawmakers in May’s Conservative Party, her office said a timetable for the leadership election would be set by the party and that she would remain as PM until her successor was elected
• “This is about providing new leadership for phase 2 (of the negotiations to leave the EU), but we have to get through phase 1 first and leave,” the statement said

‘Right for country, party’ 

This has been a testing time... I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party. —Theresa May, British PM