May: Parliament support ‘not sufficient’ for third Brexit vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday said there was “still not sufficient support” in parliament for her to bring her Brexit deal back to parliament for a third vote.

“As things stand there is still not sufficient support in the House to bring back the deal for a third meaningful vote,” May told parliament, voicing hope that this could change later in the week.

Earlier May told parliament “unless this House agrees to it, no deal will not happen”, prompting some lawmakers to say she had ruled out a ‘no deal’ exit.

“She’s setting out the factual position in that the government would find it very difficult to take this country out of the European Union without a deal were that in defiance of parliamentary consent,” May’s spokesman told reporters, adding the legal default position, for now, was still a “no deal” Brexit if parliament fails to ratify the divorce agreement.

“Parliament has shown already it is opposed to no deal and parliament has shown itself capable of finding means to express its will,” said another spokesman.

Britain was due to leave the European Union on March 29, but May agreed with the bloc’s leaders last week to delay that date to May 22 if her Brexit agreement is approved by parliament this week, or to April 12 if it is not.