Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street to make a statement to the Houses of Parliament in London. Photos / AP
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May for the first time today admitted that Brexit may be delayed, as the two main political parties and Parliament struggle over how - or even if - Britain should leave the European Union.
May told MPs that if they reject her Brexit deal again next month, they will have an opportunity to vote on whether to ask the European Union to allow Britain to remain a part of the trading bloc beyond the scheduled March 29 departure date.
May said that if such an extension were triggered, it would likely be granted only once by the EU and that the delay should be "short and limited".
She suggested an extension until June would be best, so Britain would not have to take part in the next round of elections for the European Parliament.
This was a major concession by May, who until today had insisted not only that her Brexit deal the best and only one on offer, but that it would be reckless to delay leaving the European Union beyond March 29.
Her acceptance of a possible extension indicates how much she and her weak Government have ceded control over Brexit to an assertive but divided Parliament.
Hardcore Brexiteers fear, and those who want to stay in the EU hope, that a delay might lead to the end of Brexit.
"My suspicion is that any delay to Brexit is a plot to stop Brexit," Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg tweeted. "This would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit."
But May remains intent on making Brexit happen, and there isn't yet enough momentum behind any alternatives.
Since Parliament overwhelmingly rejected her withdrawal deal last month, May has appealed to reluctant European leaders to give her a legally binding assurance that Britain won't be chained to EU customs and trade regulations forever, in an effort to keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic open and invisible. So far, May has failed to make any demonstrable progress.
She has faced a buzz saw of opposition from Brexit moderates and hardliners in her own Conservative Party.
The hardcore Tory Brexiteers, led by figures such as former foreign minister Boris Johnson, think May's compromise Brexit proposals keep Britain tied too closely to Europe.
May was also lashed by the resignations last week of three prominent Tories who want to remain in the European Union and fear May is about to drive Britain over a cliff-edge into a disastrous "no-deal" Brexit.
Today, May bowed to pressure from a trio of Cabinet ministers who reportedly threatened to resign if she did not give Parliament the chance to delay Brexit if her deal failed to win approval again.
Now May is offering compromise in a series of possible votes, each one based upon the results of the one before:
1) The Prime Minister promised MPs they would have a "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal by March 12 - barely two weeks before the Brexit deadline.
2) If Parliament again rejects her deal, MPs would proceed with a vote on whether to rule out leaving the EU without a withdrawal deal in place. The no-deal scenario is seen by many as too risky and too costly to the British - and European - economies, though many hardline Brexiteers now favour it.
3) Finally, if Parliament rejects May's deal and rejects leaving with no deal, then it will be asked if it wants to seek a months-long delay.
"I believe that if we have to, we will ultimately make a success of no-deal," May told the MPs, to a chorus of hoots and boos. But she was clear that the best way forward was to approve her still-to-be-amended deal.
After her statement, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, told the House of Commons: "I've lost count of the number of times the Prime Minister has come to this house to explain a further delay."
He added: "This is not dithering. It is a deliberate strategy to run down the clock."
Corbyn said that May's handling of Brexit is already having real-life consequences. "Factories relocating abroad, jobs being lost, investment being canceled, thousands of workers at sites across Britain's towns and cities are hearing rumours and fearing for the worst," he said.
But Corbyn has his own troubles over Brexit. Nine Labour MPs who support remaining in the EU resigned last week.
Together, the Labour and Conservative defectors formed the Independent Group, united in their opposition to Brexit. In snap polls, the group appeared to be the third most popular in Britain.
With more MPs threatening to leave Labour, Corbyn yesterday softened his opposition to a second Brexit referendum and said his party would support a second people's vote to stop what he called "a damaging Tory Brexit."
#Brexit: What happens next?
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 26, 2019
These are the key dates next month ⬇️
[tap to expand] https://t.co/DCv95DVIns pic.twitter.com/ehsPdvzsGn
While Labour Party delegates voted in September to back a second referendum, Corbyn had been cold to the idea. Many Labour voters - especially in Wales and the north of England - want Britain to leave the European Union.
But Corbyn revised his position after he, too, saw defections from his party. Nine Labour MPs who support remaining in the European Union resigned last week.
In her remarks, May offered no support for a second referendum.
Several MPs today asked May how she would vote if, on March 13, there was indeed a vote on whether Parliament supported a "no-deal" Brexit, a scenario that some say could be disastrous for the economy. Not that they were any the wiser.
"Will the prime minister do a brave thing and do once what is best for the country, not what is best for any of us," said Jess Phillips, a Labour MP, as she gestured to other MPs in the chamber. "Will she at least vote herself against no-deal?"
May responded by saying that she would proceed with trying to leave the European Union.
'The difficult thing is everything is so unlikely.'
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) February 26, 2019
Journalists Rachel Sylvester, Iain Dale and Stephen Bush have a go on the Brexit whiteboard to map out their predictions.
What do you think?@RSylvesterTimes | @stephenkb | @IainDale | #newsnight pic.twitter.com/RscKVbfl9R
"I feel so enraged with the complete and utter lack of bravery to do the right thing for our country"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 26, 2019
Labour's Jess Phillips calls on Theresa May to do "what is best for this country" and pledge to vote against a no-deal #Brexit
[tap to expand] https://t.co/NuPmupv4xu pic.twitter.com/pGLx6WiwJ2
Since her Brexit plan was rejected, Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly set off for Brussels, ostensibly to negotiate terms for Britain's departure from the EU.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 26, 2019
What goes on during those negotiations? According to a confidential document: nothing. https://t.co/1ORCRJqaEt
"This is a shameful moment. Nothing has changed."
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 26, 2019
Independent Group MP Anna Soubry accuses Theresa May of failing to put the nation's interests first on Brexit. pic.twitter.com/87lYoDFsLx
'Will we be out of the EU by the end of 2019?' asks @KayBurley.
— Sky News Politics (@SkyNewsPolitics) February 26, 2019
Defence minister @Tobias_Ellwood says the Tories do not want to see Article 50 extended and it won't happen if MPs simply support the PM's deal.
Latest on #Brexit here: https://t.co/mTf54VZnBS pic.twitter.com/ODrU8y601A
It was an eventful day in Britain as Theresa May bowed to intense political pressure and gave parliament a chance to delay the March 29 Brexit deadline by three monthshttps://t.co/HF6frNesEU pic.twitter.com/LB3EBOiN0o
— AFP London (@afplondon) February 26, 2019
Twenty-seven locations in Kyiv were hit, including residential buildings.