British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to win a confidence vote yesterday, despite a crushing defeat over her Brexit deal that triggered warnings of a chaotic “no deal” divorce.
British lawmakers on Tuesday rejected May’s deal, leaving the process in limbo just 73 days before the official departure date.
May suffered the biggest government defeat in modern British history when the House of Commons rejected by 432 votes to 202 the deal she struck with Brussels last year after 18 months of negotiations.
Photo: Reuters
The EU said that the vote raises the risk of a hugely disruptive “no deal” Brexit, in which Britain could sever ties with its biggest trading partner overnight.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged London to “clarify its intentions as soon as possible,” while European Chief Negotiator for the United Kingdom Exiting the EU Michel Barnier said he “regretted profoundly” the vote.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered May some hope, saying: “We still have time to negotiate, but we’re now waiting on what the prime minister proposes.”
Ireland said that it would intensify preparations for a “disorderly Brexit.”
May struck a conciliatory tone after the vote, promising cross-party talks to try and salvage a workable Brexit deal before returning with a new plan on Monday.
The prime minister’s own backbenchers rebelled in huge numbers over the deal, but the ringleaders said they would still back her in the confidence vote scheduled for about 7pm.
“We are going to vote with the government... Of course the Conservatives are going to support the Conservative government,” Brexit-supporting Member of Parliament (MP) Steve Baker told the BBC.
The motion was tabled by opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who wants to force a general election.
May’s parliamentary allies in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party have led the charge against her Brexit deal, but do not want a Labour government.
After the defeat, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “the pressure” was mainly on Britain to find a solution, but suggested there might be room to “make improvements on one or two things.”
However, Coveney told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “I don’t think the EU is any mood to agree changes to the withdrawal treaty.”
Anand Menon, professor of European Politics at King’s College London, told reporters that the EU “will be thinking hard about whether it’s worth offering concessions given the number of MPs the prime minister has to win over.”
Increasing numbers of pro-European MPs are calling for a second referendum with an option to cancel Brexit.
Yesterday, 71 Labour MPs signed a letter calling for a public vote, while Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that it was the “only credible option.”
Speculation is also growing that May could ask to delay Brexit whatever happens, which she has denied.
The pound edged down yesterday morning, but mostly held its ground as investors considered the next likely developments.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique