Parliament Takes Control from May in Bid to Avoid No-Deal Brexit

The move comes after May said on Monday that her Brexit plan did not have enough support for another vote.

British lawmakers on Monday wrested control of the parliamentary agenda from Prime Minister Theresa May, setting up a series of votes on potential Brexit plans as the political situation around the U.K.’s departure from the European Union grows increasingly chaotic.

The prime minister typically sets the agenda for the House of Commons, but lawmakers approved an amendment taking that control away from May and her Conservative government. Several members of May’s own party defied her to vote for the amendment, including three junior ministers who resigned from their posts in order to do so, according to reports.

Members of Parliament will now hold a series of so-called indicative votes on Wednesday in an attempt to forge a way forward through the Brexit process. The indicative votes are not binding but rather are a way to see what, if any, option commands majority support. May said she can not promise that the government will honor the outcome of the votes.

The vote was borne in part out of a desperate desire to avoid a no-deal Brexit, under which the U.K. would leave the EU on April 12 without a deal in place. Such an exit would almost certainly create mass chaos and severely disrupt business, travel and trade.

Earlier in the day Monday, May told lawmakers that she did not have enough support to put her Brexit plan up for a third vote as she hoped to do Tuesday. Despite the fact that lawmakers have twice rejected her plan, May continues to push it as the only viable Brexit option.

Brexit was originally scheduled for March 29, but the EU agreed to push the date back to May 22 if May’s plan is passed. If her plan is not approved, Brexit will occur on April 12 unless lawmakers come up with an alternate plan or ask for another extension, which would require the U.K. to vote in EU elections at the end of May – an option the prime minister opposes.

Parliament hopes that the series of indicative votes on Wednesday will illuminate such a plan. They will likely vote on an array of options, including May’s plan, a no-deal Brexit, a new referendum and canceling Brexit all together.

Parliament is also expected to put forward options for a “soft Brexit,” including a plan that would keep the U.K. in the EU single market and an option that would outline participation in a customs union with the EU, according to reports.