The sheer scale of May’s latest defeat makes a Brexit delay almost inevitable
The IndependentSign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. That means parliament is heading towards asking the EU to delay Brexit, which is, in effect, another way of not deciding, as the prime minister said rather pointedly after the vote. The only way to avoid delaying Brexit would be for the Commons to pass another version of the prime minister’s deal on a third, or possibly even a fourth attempt. The prime minister accepted in her historic statement on 26 February that the House of Commons would decide the next stages of Brexit, even if she disagreed with it. The scale of tonight’s vote tilts the country towards not leaving at all and yet, as the prime minister implied, many MPs refuse to take responsibility for what was, in effect, a decision by default.