Theresa May lost control of Brexit after her revamped exit deal was overwhelmingly rejected by 149 votes in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening, leaving her authority in shreds.
Mrs May was forced to admit that Britain’s departure from the EU could be delayed beyond the scheduled date of March 29, hinting that parliament could force her to lead the UK towards a “softer Brexit” — including a customs union with the bloc and membership of its single market — if MPs continued to block her own deal.
Some 75 Tory MPs joined with Labour and other opposition parties to reject Mrs May’s deal for the second time; the only slim comfort for Number 10 was that the margin of defeat was smaller than the historic 230 deficit in January’s vote.