December 11, 2018

LONDON — Theresa May bought herself time. Nothing more.

After three weeks of repeatedly arguing her Brexit deal was the only one in town, the prime minister finally acknowledged what has been obvious for days — that she has failed to convince enough of her backbenchers of the deal's merits. May pulled Tuesday’s crunch vote of British MPs with the extraordinary admission that her plan would have been “rejected by a significant margin.”

The imminent threat to her premiership that would have followed such a critical defeat has been kept at bay, but as Hilary Benn, chair of the House of Commons Brexit committee, put it, she may merely be “postponing the inevitable.”

Short of a revisiting of the agreement she negotiated with Brussels — something the EU has already ruled out — May’s deal looks likely to be rejected by parliament when she eventually brings it back for a vote, be that in a matter of days or weeks. After that, the threat to her authority will return.

Read more:

https://www.politico.eu/article/theresa-may-postpones-brexit-fight/