British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to exit the European Union suffered a crushing defeat in the U.K. Parliament Tuesday afternoon — one of the worst defeats for a government proposal in recent history.
The U.K.’s government now has just three days to map out a plan of action, outlining how it will extricate itself from the European Union without throwing either the U.K.’s or the EU’s economies into a tailspin, or face a very uncertain future.
May’s withdrawl bill, which was written and neogtiated over the course of the last several weeks, in concert with a number of EU leaders and leaders from her own Conservative Party, failed in Parliament by an astounding margin, according to Buzzfeed News: 432 votes to 202. That is more than any other vote contested by the government since the early 1920s.
The vote set two other records: more than 400 legislators voted against a measure for the first time in recent history, and more than 100 members of May’s own Conservative Party abandoned their Prime Minister to vote against the deal.
The U.K. voted on whether to leave the European Union — or make a “British exit” or “Brexit” — back in 2016. “Leavers” outvoted “Remainers” by 51.9% to 48.1%, with an incredible voter turnout rate of approximately 71%. As a result, the U.K. invoked what is known as “Article 50” of the European Union charter, setting a two-year period during which May’s government would be required to construct an exit plan that culminated in the U.K.’s exit from the EU on March 29, 2019.
Over the course of the last several months, May and her government have negotiated a 500-plus page withdrawl agreement with the European Union, which includes a nearly 30 page outline of how the U.K. and the EU will handle relations with each other going forward. But on Tuesday, Parliament resoundingly rejected the deal, sending May and other members of Parliament to the drawing board in a race to come up with a new plan in just three days.
There are a number of ways forward if that plan never materializes. Parliament could create and vote on its own Brexit plan. The U.K. could unilaterally delay “Brexit,” even without the approval of the European Union. They could renegotiate May’s deal. They could exit on March 29, 2019, without any deal at all. The U.K. could even hold a second referendum on Brexit, though that is unlikely at this point.
For May, the road may be much shorter. Labour leader (and noted anti-Semite) Jeremy Corbyn has called for a “no-confidence” vote in May’s leadership, according to Business Insider — a move that could throw the United Kingdom into a general election several years ahead of schedule.
“Under terms of Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the House of Commons must hold a short debate on the no confidence motion on Wednesday before voting on whether to support the Labour leader’s move to oust the government,” BI reports. “For the motion to be successful, Corbyn would need support from a majority of MPs.”
A general election is a truly frightening prospect, particularly when it could end with Corbyn becoming prime minister. Fortunately, it appears the prospect of a Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn is so daunting that a large coalition of MPs have said they plan to keep the government intact, at least for now.
Theresa May is expected to speak on the Brexit defeat late Tuesday afternoon.