Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan was not expected to pass, but it was brutally murdered in a far larger margin of defeat than was expected: 432 to 202. This is the largest parliamentary defeat for a sitting government in history.
The options for the Brits now include a no-deal Brexit on March 29; desperate negotiations for a new plan; or asking for an extension from the EU while a fresh hell is organized, such as a new referendum or a general election.
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn immediately tabled a no-confidence vote in May’s government.
“Time is almost up,” wrote EU chief Jean-Claude Junker on Twitter within minutes of the lawmakers’ vote.
May’s plan, assuming she wins the no-confidence vote, will be to stall until all parliament can do is choose between a no-deal Brexit (widely expected to be a disaster) or a largely-unchanged version of this dead-on-arrival deal. And then they’ll pass it, because misery is preferable to mortality.