The British prime minister, Theresa May, yesterday presented a schedule of votes that will be put to parliament over the coming week. Part of this schedule is a vote about possibly postponing Brexit.
On March 12 at the latest, the British parliament will vote on the Brexit deal May has made with the EU. If the deal doesn't survive the vote, there will be a vote on a hard Brexit on March 13 at the latest. "The United Kingdom will only leave the EU with the explicit approval in the House for this result," declared May.
If the parliament doesn't agree with a hard Brexit, there will be another vote by the 14th of March. In this vote the parliament will decide on delaying Brexit. "Let's be clear that I do not want Article 50 to be delayed," according to the prime minister. "Our focus must be on achieving a deal and leaving the EU on March 29."
A possible delay brings with it the necessary problems. If the Brits leave the EU after June, the Brits are still allowed to vote for the European Parliament. "What message will we be sending to the over 17 million people who voted to leave the EU?" The chance of Britain leaving the EU with a deal by June due to a delay, is small. May also points out that a delay doesn't remove the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. "The only way to do that is to withdraw Article 50, which I won't do, or vote on a deal."
