After again rejecting Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit proposal, British lawmakers will vote Wednesday on a potential block to keep the government from leaving the European Union without an approved agreement.
With Parliament members now voting twice against the plan May negotiated with the EU and no other plans expected before March 29, a "no deal" exit might be the likely scenario unless it, too, is rejected by lawmakers.
Because Parliament is anticipating a vote against accepting a "no deal" Brexit, they have scheduled another vote Thursday on whether to delay the departure, perhaps until June. That would need unlikely approval from the EU.
"I don't see a reason to give any extension if first of all, we don't know what the majority position is of the House of Commons," Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's chief Brexit official, said Wednesday. "We are waiting now fr a proposal from London. It is now in London that they have to find a way out of this and break the deadlock."
Likewise, EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday the blame for Britain's Brexit struggles lies among lawmakers in London.
"The EU has done everything it can to help get the Withdrawal Agreement over the line," Barnier said on Twitter. "The impasse can only be solved in the U.K. Our 'no-deal' preparations are now more important than ever before."
"Listening to debate in [the House of Commons]: There seems to be a dangerous illusion that the U.K. can benefit from a transition in the absence of [a deal]. Let me be clear: The only legal basis for a transition is the Withdrawal Agreement. No withdrawal agreement means no transition," Barnier warned in another tweet.
There is still a push by some Parliament members to vote on taking a "no deal" Brexit off the table under any circumstances but it is unclear on whether that will get a vote.
One of the leading voices for Brexit, former British legislator Nigel Farage, said he asked President Donald Trump to back supporters of a "no deal" Brexit if May's current deal with the EU remains on the table, The Telegraph reported.
Farage said the conversation between he and Trump happened last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
