The parliamentarians voted against a motion endorsing the government’s negotiating strategy with the European Union. However, the defeat is not legally binding.
With Brexit just six weeks away, United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May suffered another defeat in the House of Commons on Thursday as legislators voted down her approach to the talks, BBC reported. This comes weeks after she agreed to renegotiate the deal with the European Union after MPs in the Lower House voted 317 to 301 to order her to seek new terms with the bloc.
On Thursday, parliamentarians voted 303 votes to 258 against a motion endorsing the government’s negotiating strategy. The defeat is not legally binding and Downing Street said it would not change May’s approach to talks with the European Union. However, Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn urged May to “admit her Brexit strategy has failed” and come forward with a plan Parliament would support.
The government was defeated because hardline pro-Brexit legislators in May’s Conservative Party abstained, feeling the government is effectively ruling out the threat of leaving the European Union without an agreement on departure terms and future relations.