Following this evening’s (Thursday) vote, MP’s have chosen to have the Prime Minister request an extension of Article 50 to delay Brexit beyond the 29th March.
The final count showed 413 voted in favour of delaying Brexit and 202 voted against, with 27 abstentions.
Nearing the end of a week of important parliamentary votes, MPs have now voted down the deal that the Prime Minister has negotiated with the EU as well as against a no-deal alternative.
Theresa May, contrary to her previous position on the matter, voted to delay Brexit beyond the 29th March. The Majority of the Conservative Party voted against an extension of Article 50.
The Prime Minister now intends to hold another meaningful vote on her withdrawal agreement by next week, if it is approved she will ask for an extension of three months up until the 30th June.
If the deal is voted down for the third time, Mrs May says that she will seek a much larger extension to negotiations.
For any extension to take be approved, all EU states must approve the decision.
The EU commission has stated that it would be up to these states “to consider such a request, giving priority to the need to ensure the functioning of the EU institutions and taking into account the reasons for and duration of a possible extension”.
Five other motions were selected to be voted on by MPs over the evening, all of which were rejected or withdrawn, including a motion tabled by The Independent Group seeking a delay of Brexit in order to host a second referendum.
At this time, the government is still preparing for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.
