LONDON (AP) - The Latest on Britain’s exit from the European Union (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered an embarrassing parliamentary defeat on Brexit as lawmakers remain resistant to her EU divorce plan.
The House of Commons voted 303 to 258 on Thursday against a motion reiterating support for May’s approach to Brexit - support expressed by lawmakers in votes just two weeks ago.
The defeat is symbolic rather than binding stresses how weak her hand is as she tries to secure changes to her divorce deal from the EU in order to win backing for it in Parliament.
The government was defeated when the members of a pro-Brexit faction in the governing Conservatives, the European Research Group, abstained because they feel the government is effectively ruling out the threat of leaving the EU without a deal.
May is struggling with little sign of success to win backing for her deal from both pro-Brexit and pro-EU lawmakers in Parliament, which rejected the agreement by a whopping 230 votes last month.
The U.K. is due to leave the EU on March 29.
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9:25 a.m.
Britain’s prime minister is scrambling to avoid another defeat on her Brexit strategy amid opposition from members of her own party who fear she is moving in the wrong direction in efforts to overcome the impasse blocking a deal.
Hard-line pro-Brexit lawmakers say a measure to be voted on Thursday rules out the threat of leaving the European Union without an agreement on future relations, undermining Britain’s bargaining position. Prime Minister Theresa May has previously ruled out a “no-deal” Brexit as she attempts to win concessions from the EU after Parliament rejected her deal last month.
European Council President Donald Tusk has reiterated his frustration with Britain, tweeting “No news is not always good news. EU27 still waiting for concrete, realistic proposals from London on how to break #Brexit impasse.”
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