LONDON: British MPs on Tuesday (Jan 29) voted on a series of amendments seeking to show what they want as Brexit approaches on Mar 29, with Britain currently on course to crash out of the EU without a withdrawal deal.

Earlier this month, they rejected the agreement Prime Minister Theresa May struck with the European Union late last year.

Now they have sent her back to Brussels to renegotiate -- and said they do not want Britain to leave the EU with no deal.

WHAT DO THEY WANT?

MPs backed an amendment by 317 votes to 301 that offers support for May's deal if she can remove the "backstop" arrangement intended to keep open Britain's border with Ireland.

The proposal from senior Conservative MP Graham Brady calls instead for "alternative arrangements" to avoid border checks.

Speaking before the vote, May said the amendment would give her a mandate to return to Brussels and negotiate a "significant and legally binding change" to the Brexit deal.

The vote united her Conservative party and their Northern Irish allies.

MPs have called previously for a unilateral exit clause from the backstop, or a time limit - both ideas rejected by the EU.

May emphasised she remained committed to avoiding any new border checks in Ireland.

MPs voted by 318 to 310 to support an amendment by Conservative MP Caroline Spelman rejecting the possibility that Britain leaves the European Union with no deal.

It is not legally binding but has political weight.

Speaking before the votes, May told MPs: "I, too, want to avoid leaving with no deal."

But she said the amendment "is missing the other half of the equation, for unless we are to end up with no Brexit at all, the only way to avoid no deal is to agree a deal".

MPs voted by 321 to 298 to reject a cross-party amendment which sought to delay Brexit to stop Britain leaving with no deal on Mar 29.

Presented by Labour MP Yvette Cooper, it would have cleared the Commons timetable on Feb 5 for a debate on a law to delay, if the government failed to agree a Brexit deal by Feb 26.

MPs also rejected by 327 votes to 296 an amendment by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding parliamentary time to vote on how "no deal" might be avoided.

He had offered two options: renegotiate a new UK-EU customs union and a "strong relationship" with the EU's single market, or hold a second referendum.

Another amendment from former Conservative minister Dominic Grieve, which would have allowed MPs to express their will in a series of votes right up to Brexit day, was also defeated by 321 votes to 301.

IS THAT IT?

The government has promised another vote on its Brexit deal as soon as possible.

May said on Tuesday that if she had no new deal to put to MPs before Feb 13, then they would be able to vote on the next steps on Feb 14.

Elsewhere, MPs could still seek to influence events by proposing amendments to a series of government bills that must pass parliament before Brexit day.

A growing number of ministers have also warned they will not accept a "no deal" Brexit, raising the possibility they could resign to try to stop such an outcome. </s> MPs have once again rejected a series of alternative Brexit plans as four options failed to get a majority in the Commons.

A proposal from Tory grandee Ken Clarke for a customs union arrangement with the EU was rejected by only three votes, while a demand for a second referendum was defeated by 12 and a Norway-style deal beaten by 21.

A fourth option, which called for Article 50 to be revoked if a deal could not be agreed and MPs rejected leaving without a deal, went down by 191 votes to 292.

To find out how your MP voted, put their name into the search field below. If you don't know your MP's name, you can also search by constituency.

Mr Clarke's motion demanding the UK form a customs union with the EU came closest to passing, garnering 273 votes, with 276 MPs casting ballots the other way.

Nick Boles' motion calling for a Common Market 2.0 - a plan for close engagement with the EU after Brexit along the lines of Norway's relationship with the bloc - got 261 votes in favour, with 282 ballots against.

Mr Boles declared that he would no longer sit as a Conservative MP after the defeat.

A motion calling for a second referendum on any Brexit deal passed by parliament gained the highest number of votes in favour - 280 - but 292 MPs voted against it.

The motion with the heaviest defeat margin called for Article 50 to be revoked in the event that a deal could not be agreed and MPs rejected leaving without a deal, which went down by 191 votes to 292.

Click on the links below to find out how your MP voted on previous Brexit debates. </s> MPs again rejected all options set out in Parliament last night in a series of "indicative votes" aimed at finding a way forward for Brexit.

It was the second time in the space of a week that all alternatives to Theresa May's deal were rejected by Parliament after the Commons took control of the Brexit process following the Prime Minister's three defeats on her plan.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay told MPs that the default outcome was now a no-deal Brexit on April 12, but said it was still possible to leave with a deal - and avoid holding European Parliament elections in May - if the Commons approves an agreement this week.

Cabinet will meet today for five hours to try and thrash out a way forward.

Here's how our MPs voted for each of the alternative plans set out last night:

The UK would join the European Free Trade Association and European Economic Area with countries such as Norway, allowing us to remain part of the single market, retaining freedom of movement, so British citizens would keep the right to live and work in the EU and vice-versa.

Former Conservative MP Nick Boles's Common Market 2.0 motion was defeated by 282 votes to 261, majority 21.

Would see the Government to negotiating "a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU" as part of any Brexit deal.

Would give the UK a closer trading relationship with the EU and reduce the need for some (but not all) checks at the Irish border.

Tory former chancellor Ken Clarke's customs union motion was defeated by 276 votes to 273, majority three.

Gives the public a vote to approve any Brexit deal passed by Parliament, before it can be implemented.

MPs voted by 292 votes to 280, majority 12, to reject Labour MP Peter Kyle's second Brexit referendum motion.

Giving MPs power to block leaving with no-deal by cancelling Brexit if EU won’t grant a further extension beyond 12 April

SNP MP Joanna Cherry's proposal saw 191 votes for, 292 against, defeated by a majority 101 </s> PARLIAMENT has asked prime minister Theresa May to take a no-deal Brexit off the table - and seek alternative arrangements for the Northern Ireland backstop.

MPs voted on seven amendments in the House of Commons this evening – with the notable outcomes being to not accept a no-deal scenario, and to avoid creating a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland with an amendment to the backstop agreement – though none of the amendments are legally binding.

The Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s suggested amendments to Theresa May’s next move on Brexit was defeated 327-296.

His amendment was to enter a permanent customs union with Brussels and a version of the EU’s single market – as well as having a public vote on a deal.

SNP leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, proposed an extension to Article 50 and for a no-deal Brexit to be ruled out, which was voted down 327-39.

Tory MP Dominic Grieve’s amendment would force the government to give MPs six days to discuss alternatives on the Brexit plan – this was defeated 321-301.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper suggested a new law postponing Brexit until December 31, if MPs did not approve Theresa May’s deal. This vote was also lost, by 321-298.

This was followed by Labour MP Rachel Reeves’ amendment to also postpone the Brexit deadline, which was defeated, and a cross-party amendment from Dame Caroline Spelman and Jack Dromey to prevent a no-deal Brexit – which was approved 318-210.

Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady’s amendment called for the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with ‘alternative arrangements’, thus preventing a hard border – which was also approved by 317-301.

Here’s what MPs in the Portsmouth region had to say on the votes:

‘Tonight I hope a little bit of faith was won back by the Commons.

‘MPs voted to defeat amendments which would have derailed Brexit and the will of the people.

‘A way forward to secure a deal has been supported by a majority of the house.

‘The prime minister will go back to Brussels to secure changes to the withdrawal agreement as required.

‘I am pleased that we are a step closer to leaving the EU in an orderly way and I think that the vast majority of my constituents, whether they voted leave or remain, would be pleased to hear that.’

‘Theresa May is continuing to push the narrative of her deal or no-deal, attempting to force the public into accepting a substandard and uncertain deal as the lesser of two evils – both of which would make our city and our country poorer.

‘Preparations for no-deal are costing £170,000 per hour and would cost Portsmouth 1,300 jobs.

‘Parliament has spoken with one voice to rule it out – the Government must now do the same. The people of Portsmouth and this nation deserve to be presented with better options than what this government is currently offering.

‘So much has changed in the last two years and the stalemate we are currently experiencing can only be broken by the people telling us which direction they want to go in.

‘That’s why I voted tonight for the amendment which provides an opportunity for democracy to take place and for the people to have a final say.’

‘It’s a big step in the right direction.

‘Up until now we’ve only known what parliament wouldn’t support – now we have given the prime minister a clear mandate from the house of Commons to renegotiate arrangements in place of the backstop and bring back a deal on which the UK will leave the EU on March 29.

‘The no-deal vote is not legally binding, but a clear indication that parliament needs to get behind a deal that we can all agree on.’

‘I was pleased to support the government today in votes on Theresa May’s plan for renegotiation of the Brexit deal.

‘The prime minister now has a clear indication of what the majority of MPs will support – legally-binding changes to the Northern Ireland backstop being most significant.

‘I am optimistic that such changes will now be secured with the EU so that the UK will leave the EU on March 29 this year.

‘The no-deal rejection is a non-binding and ineffective vote. Legally speaking, in the absence of a deal, we will leave without one.

‘Tonight’s votes show that overturning this is very difficult.’ </s> LONDON: British MPs voted on Wednesday (Jan 9) to force Prime Minister Theresa May to quickly set out an alternative plan for Brexit if she loses a crucial vote on her EU withdrawal deal next week, in a second parliamentary defeat in 24 hours.

The House of Commons voted to reduce the time the government has to explain its "plan B" from 21 sitting days to three if, as expected, lawmakers reject the draft Brexit agreement in a vote on Tuesday.

Members of May's own Conservative party led the revolt amid fears that delaying the decision raises the risks of Britain crashing out of the European Union on March 29 with no deal at all.

It was the second setback in as many days for the prime minister, after MPs voted late on Tuesday to deny the government certain taxation powers in a no-deal scenario - another attempt to avoid such an outcome.

Speaking to MPs earlier, May said: "The only way to avoid no deal is to vote for the deal."

But her spokesman added: "If that were not to take place ... we would respond quickly and provide certainty on the way forward."

The parliamentary manoeuvres came at the start of five days of debate on the deal May struck with the EU last November, which has been strongly opposed from lawmakers on all sides of the House of Commons.



She set out further clarifications she hopes will win over her own Conservative MPs and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her government in parliament.

The most controversial element of the agreement is the "backstop" arrangement, which could see Northern Ireland continue to follow certain EU trade rules after Brexit to avoid border checks with Ireland.

The government has now offered guarantees to local lawmakers in the province over the operation of the backstop, and on the free flow of trade between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain.

But DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the proposals were "meaningless and cosmetic", adding he would keep pressing for changes to the overall deal.

May is also still seeking assurances on the operation of the backstop from European leaders, which she hopes to deliver before the vote next week.

The prime minister has already postponed the vote once - in December - to avoid defeat, and has said a loss for the government would plunge Britain into "uncharted territory".

But without the DUP's support, and with many of May's Conservative MP still strongly opposed, the deal cannot pass.

The prime minister has warned that defeat will lead to a no-deal Brexit, or possibly no departure from the bloc.

Both revolts this week have been driven by Conservative MPs who fear what they see as the potentially disastrous impact of leaving the EU in March with no arrangements in place to replace four decades of membership.

Late on Tuesday, 303 MPs - among them more than a dozen former Conservative ministers - voted to restrict the government's taxation powers in a "no deal" scenario, against 296 who backed May.

The government said it was an "inconvenience" but would not stop preparations for leaving the EU.

Wednesday's amendment has more weight, requiring May, is she loses the divorce deal vote, to explain her "plan B" by the latest on Monday, Jan 21. It passed by 308 votes to 297.

"The government's decision to delay the meaningful vote has run down the clock and increased the risk of a no deal Brexit," Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said.

"If the prime minister's Brexit deal is defeated next week, she must return to parliament as soon as possible and give MPs a real say on what happens next."

There was a major row in the Commons over whether the amendment could even be put to a vote, with Speaker John Bercow apparently disregarding the advice of his own clerks that it could not.

Several Conservative MPs accused Bercow of being biased against Brexit, but he insisted he was only supporting the right of MPs to challenge the government.

Labour has said it will seek a confidence vote in the government if it loses next week, and leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded she "do the right thing" and call a general election.

Conservative lawmaker and former minister Ken Clarke meanwhile repeated his call for Brexit to be delayed while parliament decides what to do next.

Despite the support of a majority of MPs to avoid a "no deal" scenario, without agreement on an alternative Britain is legally on course to leave the EU in March unless it delays or cancels the process.

May insists Brexit will happen in March, but there is growing talk of delaying the two-year Article 50 exit process. </s> The British Parliament was set to vote on competing Brexit plans Tuesday, with Prime Minister Theresa May desperately seeking a mandate from lawmakers to help secure concessions from the European Union.

But amid political gridlock in London and with Brexit day just two months away, the EU shows few, if any, signs of renegotiating the divorce deal it struck with May late last year.

British legislators were delivering verdicts on proposals that have been submitted by both pro-Brexit and pro-EU legislators since Parliament rejected May’s divorce deal with the bloc two weeks ago, leaving Britain lurching toward a cliff-edge “no-deal” departure on March 29.

May insists her agreement can still win Parliament’s backing, if it is tweaked to alleviate concerns about a contentious Irish border provision. EU leaders are adamant that the measure can’t be renegotiated, whatever British lawmakers decide.

The border measure, known as the backstop, would keep the U.K. in a customs union with the EU in order to remove the need for checks along the frontier between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland after Britain leaves the bloc.

Opposition to the backstop by pro-Brexit lawmakers who fear it will trap Britain in regulatory lockstep with the EU helped sink May’s deal on Jan. 15, when Parliament rejected it by 432 votes to 202.

May has backed a proposal calling for the backstop to be replaced by “alternative arrangements,” and has called on all lawmakers from her Conservative Party to support it.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the amendment offered the best chance for Britain to avoid leaving the EU without a deal on future relations.

“I think we should send the prime minister back to Brussels with a strong mandate to be able to say ‘If you compromise with us on this one issue, on the backstop, we would be able to a get an agreement,’” he told the BBC.

But it’s far from certain the amendment can win support from a majority in the House of Commons. And the EU insists the legally binding withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated.

Ireland’s European Affairs Minister, Helen McEntee, said British politicians needed to show “a bit of realism.”

“There can be no change to the backstop. It was negotiated over 18 months with the U.K. and by the U.K.,” she said.

Though Parliament is overwhelmingly opposed to May’s deal, lawmakers are divided over what to do instead whether to brace for a “no-deal” Brexit or to try and rule it out.

Much of the business world says a no-deal Brexit would cause economic chaos by eliminating existing EU trade agreements and imposing tariffs, customs checks and other barriers between the U.K. and its main export market.

To complicate matters further, the split between Brexiteers and pro-Europeans runs through both main parties, Conservatives and Labour.

Conservatives from rival wings of the party proposed a compromise Tuesday that calls for Britain to seek a “new backstop” and an extended transition period of almost three years after March 29 so that Britain and the EU can work out a permanent new trade deal.

But Sarah Wollaston, a pro-EU Conservative, dismissed the plan as “fantasy Brexit.”

She tweeted: “There won’t be any renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement & all the nonsense is a smokescreen whilst the clock runs down to No Deal. Parliament should vote to reject that catastrophe.”

The backstop proposal is one of more than a dozen amendments proposed by lawmakers that aim to alter the course of Britain’s departure.

Others, backed by the main opposition Labour Party, seek to rule out a no-deal Brexit so Britain can’t tumble out of the bloc on March 29 without an agreement in place to cushion the shock.

Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow will announce before Tuesday’s debate begins which amendments have been selected for votes.

EU leaders have repeatedly urged Britain to clarify what kind of Brexit it wants and are watching to see which proposals if any get the backing of Parliament.

“This is not a Brussels day, this is a London day,” said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas. “We have the vote tonight and then we will take it from there.” </s> Paul O'Connor, Head of the UK-based Multi-Asset Team, discusses the ongoing impasse within Parliament as MPs unsuccessfully attempt to narrow down approaches to Brexit.
• None The Brexit process remains gridlocked after none of the eight withdrawal deals presented to Parliament could muster a majority vote on March 27.
• None We believe Prime Minister Theresa May could try a third time to get support for her Brexit plan, but the prospects are not encouraging.
• None With the clock ticking toward the April 12 deadline for a "no deal" Brexit, a general election seems to be a growing possibility.

Sixteen different potential approaches to Brexit were presented to British members of Parliament (MPs) this week, eight were voted on March 27 - none received majority support. The Brexit process remains gridlocked.

Advocates of softer forms of Brexit might take encouragement from the fact that the two most popular solutions were ones involving the UK remaining in a permanent customs union with the European Union (EU) and another proposing a second referendum on the withdrawal deal. Still, these options did have more votes against them than in favor, and it remains the case that a wide range of outcomes are still plausible, including the hardest "no deal" Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May's proposed plan, softer versions of Brexit or even Brexit being revoked.

In terms of parliamentary procedure, the plan from here is for a shorter list of Wed.'s options to be presented to MPs again on Monday, probably with a new voting mechanism, in a renewed effort to establish majority support for one option.

Before then, there is a good chance that Ms. May will try one more time to get support for her Brexit plan, which has already been rejected twice by Parliament. The prospects here are not encouraging given that Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), led by Arlene Foster and, in Westminster, by deputy leader Nigel Dodds, remains opposed to the deal in its current form and the prime minister has limited scope to amend it. Parliamentary arithmetic suggests that Ms. May's deal has little chance of being passed without the support of the DUP. Even the prime minister's promise made Wed. to quit if her Brexit plan was voted through was not enough to shift the DUP position.

The clock is ticking and the pressure is building. If Parliament cannot establish support for either Ms. May's plan or one of the other Brexit options in the days ahead, then the UK will need to request an extended delay to the Brexit process to avoid the alternative "no deal" Brexit on April 12. Before granting a longer extension, the EU is likely to demand that the UK identify some way of breaking the deadlock. A general election is a growing possibility here, although it is far from obvious why this would be an effective solution given how polarized and entrenched political opinion on Brexit is in the UK. As the eight votes showed last night, it is not hard to get agreement on rejecting options for Brexit but establishing consensus for a way forward remains elusive.

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Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors. </s> LONDON, Jan 22 — British Prime Minister Theresa May sought to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit yesterday by proposing to seek further concessions from the European Union on a plan to prevent customs checks on the Irish border.

With little time left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on March 29, there is no agreement in London on how and even whether it should leave the world's biggest trading bloc, and a growing chance of a dramatic "no-deal" exit with no provisions to soften the economic shock.

After her Brexit divorce deal with Brussels was rejected by 432-202 lawmakers last Tuesday, the biggest defeat in modern British history, May has been searching for a way to get a deal through.

She told parliament she could not take a “no-deal” Brexit off the table as there was no approved alternative, and the EU would be unlikely to postpone Britain's exit date - determined by the “Article 50” withdrawal notice — without an exit plan.

“No-deal will only be taken off the table by either revoking Article 50, which turns back the results of the referendum — the government will not do that — or by having a deal, and that is what we are trying to work out,” May said.

She said another referendum would strengthen the hand of those seeking to break up the United Kingdom and could damage social cohesion by undermining faith in democracy.

May vowed to be “more flexible” with lawmakers in trying to agree changes to the Northern Irish backstop, an insurance policy to ensure there will be no return to border checks between the British province and Ireland.

“I will then take the conclusions of those discussions back to the EU,” May said. “My focus continues to be on what is needed to secure the support of this House in favour of a Brexit deal with the EU.”

Hardline supporters of Brexit in May's Conservative party object above all to the fact that Britain cannot unilaterally end the backstop, which would keep it in a customs union with the EU until an alternative way of ensuring an open border is found. Brussels says this provision is non-negotiable.

May's task is gargantuan: Convince the EU to reopen negotiations and then secure enough changes to gain the support of at least 115 lawmakers who previously voted against the deal.

The EU, which has an economy more than six times the size of the United Kingdom, says it wants an orderly exit, but senior officials have expressed frustration at London's crisis.

German Europe Minister Michael Roth said yesterday that even William Shakespeare would not have been able to think up a Brexit tragedy of such drama.

Amid fears that the world's fifth largest economy could drop out of the EU without a deal, some lawmakers are planning to wrest control of the process from the government.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the bloc was ready to work on the political declaration on future EU-UK ties, but that the withdrawal deal already agreed, which it accompanies, was the best one possible.

In a sign of how grave the political crisis has become, May was forced to deny a Daily Telegraph report that she was considering amending the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland. An open border with Ireland is widely seen as crucial to maintaining this peace.

Ireland's European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said Dublin would not engage in bilateral talks on Brexit, and would negotiate only as part of the remaining EU.

Ireland also rejected a proposal by Poland's foreign minister that the backstop be time-limited.

The 650-seat parliament is deeply divided over Brexit, with different factions supporting a wide range of options including leaving without a deal, holding a second referendum and seeking a customs union with the EU.

Lawmakers will debate and vote on the next steps on Jan. 29, and before then they can put forward amendments to May's proposals.

The opposition Labour Party put forward an amendment seeking to force the government to give parliament time to consider and vote on options to prevent a "no deal" exit. Among them should be a permanent customs union with the EU and a second referendum on Brexit, the party said — both proposals that May has ruled out.

May had earlier chided Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for not taking part in cross-party talks, but he said May was in denial.

“Her current deal is undeliverable,” he said.

Hilary Benn, a Labour lawmaker who chairs parliament's Brexit committee, said: "While her door may have been open, her mind has remained closed because she has rejected stopping us leaving the EU with no deal, even though she knows it would be disastrous."

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of anti-EU lawmakers in May’s party, said Britain was most likely to leave without a deal.

But if the backstop were scrapped, he said most of the opposition from Conservative eurosceptics would be removed.

Sterling, which has flip-flopped over the past two-and-a-half years on different signals about the course of Brexit, rose slightly to around US$1.29 on hopes of a compromise. On the day of the referendum in 2016, it was trading at US$1.50. — Reuters </s> How did St Albans and Harpenden MPs cast their votes on rejection of No Deal Brexit?

MPs all over the country faced a big decision yesterday, with the majority choosing to reject the possibility of a No Deal Brexit. But how did the St Albans and Harpenden MPs cast their votes?

On Tuesday, with just over two weeks to go until Britain is due to leave the single market, MPs voted by 149 votes not to accept Prime Minster Theresa May’s negotiated EU Withdrawal Agreement.

This is a smaller margin than the first Meaningful Vote in January, which crushed the plan by a record majority of 230.

Once again, St Albans MP Anne Main voted against and Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami voted to support it.

Yesterday, MPs were asked whether the UK should leave the European Union with a No Deal - however, this motion was not legally binding.

Mrs May whipped Conservatives to vote against this motion as she wanted to keep a No Deal scenario on the table.

However, it was still passed - Mr Afolami was one of the MPs who defied party orders and did not take part.

He said: “I have been clear in the past that I could never support a No Deal Brexit. It would cause irreparable damage to our economy and was not what people voted for in the 2016 referendum.

“However the original government motion to rule out No Deal on March 29 was not made available for me to vote on.

“I voted against the Spelman amendment after Caroline Spelman herself withdrew it believing the government motion was more powerful. I agreed.

“As that amendment passed, the substantive motion became the only opportunity to prevent No Deal on 29 March. I could not in good conscience vote against that.

“It is clearer now then ever before that the only way to solve this issue is for Parliament to agree a deal. I backed the government deal [on Tuesday]. I will continue to work towards getting a sensible deal agreed so that we can leave the EU in an orderly manner.”

Mrs Main voted against the motion. She did not reply to requests for comment.

She supported the Brexit campaign during the 2016 referendum, in which St Albans district bucked the trend, swinging 37.3 per cent Leave to 62.7 per cent Remain.

Today Parliament will vote on whether to ask the EU for an extension to Article 50.
Votes in parliament call for a no-deal outcome to be avoided, but do not support any delay in the Brexit timetable, and ask for the proposed customs arrangements in Ireland to be renegotiated, which the EU rejects.