European Union leaders will discuss the request during a summit this week in Brussels
British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked the European Union to delay Britain’s departure for three months, after a chaotic day that saw Ms. May reverse course and face withering criticism.
It’s not clear when Ms. May will try to get the agreement approved and there’s no indication the delay will resolve the impasse. If anything, the new deadline could embolden the deal’s opponents, most of whom are within Ms. May’s Conservative party caucus. They will likely keep rejecting the agreement in the hope the country leaves on June 30 without an agreement and instead begins negotiating a trade deal with the EU.The EU also has to agree to the delay.
Ms. May has insisted for months that the March 29 deadline would not be extended. She has been forced to back down because of sustained opposition to the deal and a ruling on Monday by House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow. The Prime Minister had been planning to try one more time to get it approved by MPs this week, but that plan was thwarted when Mr. Bercow ruled that the government could not keep bringing back the same motion. Instead, he said, the deal would have to be changed significantly.
That drew cries of “resign” from opposition MPs and criticism from some Tory rebels. Tory MP Peter Bone said Ms. May had told the House more than 100 times that Brexit would not be delayed beyond March 29. “Prime Minister, if you continue to apply for an extension to [the deadline], you will be betraying the British people. If you don’t, you will be honouring their instruction,” he told MPs."Prime Minister, it is entirely down to you. History will judge you at this moment.
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