The House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain approved a bill obliging Prime Minister Teresa May to seek "a further postponement of Brexit in order to avoid withdrawal from the EU without an agreement on April 12."

The document, which was proposed by the MPs Yvette Cooper from the Labor Party and Oliver Letvin from the Conservative, was adopted by a margin of only one vote - 313 parliamentarians expressed support for the postponement, 312 - against. In this case, all three readings of the bill took just a few hours.

Letvin called support for the decision on the need to seek a postponement of withdrawal from the EU as an “extremely favorable development of events” and expressed confidence that this would help avoid a “tough brexit”.

Cooper holds the same point of view. At the same time, she added that the parliamentarians emphasized with their voting real concerns about “a chaotic and destructive way out without an agreement”. Labourist called the discussion of the bill in the House of Commons “very balanced and thoughtful”.

It is worth recalling that earlier the need for a postponement was stated by the Prime Minister herself.

"We will need a further extension of the 50th Article (of the Lisbon Treaty on Exit from the EU - RT ), as short as possible," Sky News quoted her as saying.

Teresa May will have to ask Brussels to postpone, but in her address she will have to indicate the rationale for the deadline, said Elena Ananyeva, head of the Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe, RAS.

“The European Union, all 27 member countries will consider this appeal and they must unanimously decide whether to satisfy it or not,” the expert recalled in an interview with RT.

May has already been denied a short delay, which indicates that Brussels expects a new referendum to announce a new referendum as a justification for the postponement.

“It takes about a year to hold it. Meanwhile, if the postponement is granted for a year, then Britain should take part in the elections to the European Parliament, and the term of office of the European Parliament is five years, ”Ananyeva notes.

  • Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Teresa May.
  • AFP
  • © Jessica TAYLOR / UK PARLIAMENT

In addition, the expert does not rule out that Labor’s leader Jeremy Corbin will again raise the issue of a vote of no confidence in the government, since since the last voting in which the cabinet ministers resisted, May has had many opponents.

“In addition, Teresa May, when she won the vote of confidence in herself as the leader of the conservative party, said she would leave before the new parliamentary elections. She didn’t specify which ones, and she didn’t clarify whether she will resign if the elections are early, ”the expert argues.

However, she believes that the second referendum will not be able to solve existing problems.

“At the first referendum in 2016, the ratio was 52% to 48%. And if the ratio, say, is 54% to 46%? Will this solve the problem? In any case, whatever the outcome of Brexit, Britain is split seriously and for a long time, ”the expert concluded.

Negotiations May and Corbin

Previously, May three times failed to conduct a version of the agreement on withdrawal from the EU through parliament, which she had previously agreed with Brussels.

Alternative Brexit scenarios proposed by other politicians also did not receive parliamentary support. Moreover, a vote on the need for a new round of discussions on alternatives also took place the day before. As a result, the votes were split equally - 310 against 310. In this connection, for the first time since 1993, when the Maastricht Treaty was in discussion of the British parliamentarians, the voice of the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, spoke against.

Thus, the postponement was the only way to avoid “hard” brexit.

Nevertheless, the successful adoption of the bill, which obliges the government to request such a postponement, was made possible by Mei’s negotiations with opposition leader Jeremy Corbin. According to the results of the parliamentary vote, the Labor Party provided the most support for the document, which gave 229 votes out of 313 votes (with only 14 conservative votes).

The Prime Minister’s discussion of Brexit issues with Corbin caused a flurry of discontent in both parties.

“The biggest threat to our position in the world, our defense and our economy is the leader of the opposition. What gives him the right to be involved in brexit? ”- outraged Conservative Party member Lee Rowley.

Former British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson also spoke rather sharply. “It is deeply disappointing that the cabinet decided to entrust the final decision on brexit to Jeremy Corbin and the Labor Party,” the New York Times quoted him as saying.

Labor Party deputy Anna Turley, in turn, noted that May had failed three times to push her exit from the EU and now "is trying to embroil Brexit chaos Jeremy Corbin."

Another Labor representative, Emily Thornberry, completely suspected Corbin of intending to collude with the prime minister and abandon the main demand of the party - holding a referendum on any of the agreements on withdrawal from the EU, which will be adopted by Parliament.

The leader of the Labor Party noted that he expressed this demand to May, however, contrary to his expectations, the position of the prime minister on this issue has not changed much. Nevertheless, the negotiations Corbin called "useful, but unfinished."

  • Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbin.
  • Reuters
  • © UK Parliament / Mark Duffy

In the office, May spoke more optimistic. “Today’s talks were constructive. Both sides showed flexibility and showed commitment to put an end to the uncertainty that has arisen around the process of brexit, ”stressed in the apparatus.

It is noted that May and Corbin intend to continue the discussion.

Brexit supporters reaction without a deal

Not everyone is happy with the decision of parliamentarians to postpone Brexit. In particular, supporters of the “tough” scenario of secession from the EU turned out to be extremely disappointed. Their discontent was caused not only by the fact of the postponement, but also by the speed of consideration of the legislative act.

“It’s hard to argue that there was a thoroughly balanced discussion when you pushed the bill through the House of Commons in almost four hours. This is not a weighted discussion, but a gross violation of the constitution, ”said conservative Marc Francois.

Another tory, Peter Bown, even during discussions in parliament called for the speaker of the House of Commons, John Berkow, to "stop this farce." His fellow party member Bill Cash called the bill “worthy of condemnation,” and the precedent of such a quick adoption of the document is undemocratic.

Some members of the government also expressed discontent. So, junior brexit minister Chris Heaton-Harris resigned on Wednesday evening, explaining this by the protracted process of leaving the EU.

"I understand your desire not to leave the European Union without a deal, and this makes my work in the government inappropriate," wrote Heaton-Harris on Twitter.

Parliamentary Deputy Minister for Wales Affairs Nigel Adams decided to quit. He called May’s negotiations with Corbin a mistake and said that the government was in danger of failing the “brexit people voted for.”

Brussels Position

In the case of approval of the bill on the postponement by the House of Lords, Teresa May needs to obtain consent from the European Union.

On the one hand, representatives of the EU demonstrate their willingness to meet London. On the other hand, according to The Financial Times, they emphasize that a short delay is not enough here and it is necessary to transfer the brexit to January or the end of March 2020. In this case, the UK will have to take part in elections to the European Parliament in May of this year and delegate its representative to the European Commission.

Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the foreign policy committee of the Bundestag, believes that in a short time British parliamentarians will not find the right solution.

“In the current situation of a deep institutional stalemate, there is no point in requesting a brief postponement of Brexit ... The European Union must insist on granting a long postponement and participation (UK -RT ) in the elections to the European Parliament,” Röttgen wrote on Twitter.

  • The main representative of the European Union for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU Michelle Barnier speaks at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
  • Reuters
  • © Vincent Kessler

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, speaking on Wednesday in the European Parliament, also said that Brussels would not agree to a new short reprieve.

“April 12 is the deadline for approval of the exit agreement by the House of Commons. If this does not happen by this time, then there will be no more short delay, ”stressed Juncker.

The bill, approved by the House of Commons of the British Parliament, does not specify specific dates for the transfer of Brexit, which the Prime Minister must demand. At the same time, Teresa May was hoping for a short-term transfer of Brexit so that the country would not take part in the European elections.

However, the British government believes that even a long delay will not prevent London from leaving the EU when it is ready for it.

“Whatever the agreed delay, if we get a deal at an earlier stage, it will be in the general interest for us to move to the implementation period at this stage,” said British Treasury Secretary Philip Hammond in an interview with ITV.

Most parliamentarians understand that leaving the United Kingdom without an agreement is a very risky situation, said Natalia Eremina, associate professor of European studies at the Faculty of International Relations at SPSU, in an interview with RT.

“The risk for business, those of all business financial structures that operate in the United Kingdom and at the same time associated with common European financial structures and financial flows, increases,” the expert said.

At the same time, most parliamentarians still believe that if the United Kingdom cannot conclude a compromise deal, then it is necessary to go out in any case, noted Eremina. She clarified that the deputies were unable to resolve the issue with the border and subsequently this particular item will become the most difficult.

"Therefore, I consider this decision simply as a postponement before the most difficult issue, the question of borders," the expert concluded.