April 4 (UPI) — British lawmakers asked Prime Minister Theresa May Thursday for another delay in leaving the European Union, with a late-night bill that passed by a single vote.
Britain is set to leave the EU next week, and there is still no trade agreement in place for the move. Experts and politicians say leaving without a deal could create chaos and uncertainty on a number of fronts. Parliament has voted four times against May’s proposed settlement she reached with the European alliance.
Support for the bill crossed party lines late Wednesday, but some who oppose another extension called the bill “reprehensible.” Commons leader Andrea Leadsom expressed outrage over the vote, saying “if they’d had guns it would have been a military coup.”
The new delay package could be debated in the House of Lords as soon as Friday or Monday. Britain was originally set to leave the EU on March 29, but that was extended to April 12. Lawmakers could’ve put off the deadline until late May if they’d passed part of the prime minister’s proposal last week.
After defeating May’s negotiated plan on three prior occasions, lawmakers failed to pass four alternative measures Monday that left the British government with no more options to present to the EU.
The EU, meanwhile, has been moving ahead with plans for Britain to leave without a deal.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said after Monday’s votes the only remaining option is to keep searching for a deal.
