Parliament again says no to May’s Brexit deal

UPDATE: British lawmakers will decide Wednesday whether to leave the European Union without an agreement after Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan on Tuesday. Parliament is expected to vote against a “no-deal Brexit” and then ask the EU for an extension to the separation deadline, which is set for March 29. All 27 other EU members must agree to the delay. A spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk said Britain must present “credible justification” for putting off its exit. U.K. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told BBC Radio that Britain is ready for a no-deal situation but warned it “is going to be very disruptive for the economy.”

OUR EARLIER REPORT (3/12/19, 3:55 p.m.): The British Parliament overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal Tuesday, just 17 days before the U.K. is scheduled to leave the European Union. British lawmakers voted 391-242 against the agreement.

The House of Commons previously opposed May’s deal in January, sending the prime minister back to the EU to negotiate changes. May said on Monday she had secured “legally binding” changes to the agreement, but that was not enough to change the minds of lawmakers.

Parliament will vote later this week on whether to leave the EU on the scheduled exit date of March 29 without a deal or request a delay. May said lawmakers face “an unenviable choice” and that voting for an extension “does not solve the problem.”