London: The British government said it intended to put Prime Minister Theresa May’s twice-rejected Brexit deal to a third parliamentary vote on Friday to avoid a chaotic no-deal divorce from the EU in two weeks.
Ms May’s throw of the dice comes a day after her dramatic pledge to resign in order to persuade her rivals to finally back her vision for breaking Britain’s 46-year bond with the European project.
The government’s back is against the wall as it tries to keeping its economy from imploding and the pound from plunging when a post-Brexit border splits the two tight trading partners. Andrea Leadsom, the government’s representative in Parliament, said Thursday that Ms May’s team was trying to secure permission for a third vote from Speaker John Bercow.
He had already rejected a similar attempt last week after ruling that May’s text was essentially the same one lawmakers resoundingly voted down for a second time two weeks ago. Anxious EU leaders last week offered Britain a Brexit extension until May 22. But it is conditional on Parliament voting through May’s deal by Friday — the day Britain was originally scheduled to leave the bloc.
