MPs vote to demand that Theresa May rejects a no-deal Brexit
- MPs vote for Brexit amendment designed to force Theresa May to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
- The House of Commons vote by 318 to 310 to call on May to reject crashing out of the EU without a deal.
- The resolution is not legally binding but is a clear statement of the lack of parliamentary support for a no-deal.
- The prime minister has repeatedly refused to take no-deal off the table.
- The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29.
LONDON - The UK House of Commons has voted against a no-deal Brexit, in an amendment designed to force Theresa May to rule out leaving the EU without a deal.
MPs voted by 318 to 310 for a Brexit amendment brought forward by Conservative MP Caroline Spelman and Labour MP Jack Dromey, which "rejects the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement."
The amendment is not legally binding on the UK government. However, it is a clear expression of Parliament's will to oppose a hard Brexit and will make it politically difficult for the prime minister to pursue a no-deal.
The prime minister has previously repeatedly refused to take the option of leaving without a deal off the table, insisting that "no deal is better than a bad deal."
Alternative amendments pushed by Labour MPs Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves, which were designed to force the prime minister to delay Brexit, were rejected by MPs.
14 Labour MPs helped May defeat Cooper's amendment.
This is a developing story...