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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Nicholas Keyden

Brexit drama as MPs back holding indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa May's deal

MPs have taken back control over Brexit after backing indicative votes on alternative options to Theresa May's twice-failed deal.

Parliament are voting tonight on three amendments which seek to give them control of the withdrawal process in an effort to end the deadlock in the House of Commons.

The Letwin's amendment (A), which calls for indicative votes to be held on alternative Brexit options, was passed by 329 - 302, a majority of 27.

The amendment put forward by Oliver Letwin, a Tory lawmaker, changes the rules of parliament on Wednesday in order to provide time for the votes.

Tory business minister Richard Harrington resigned his post shortly before the vote so he could back the amendment.

Foreign Minister Alistair Burt and Health Minister Steve Brine also later confirmed they had resigned from Government.

MPs were deciding on an amendment to hold indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa May's Brexit deal (PA)

It comes after May acknowledged that there is not enough support in the House of Commons for her to bring back her Brexit deal for a third "meaningful vote".

Brexit: Revoke Article 50 petition hits 4 million signatures becoming most popular online protest in history  

But she said she would continue her efforts to build support for the deal - defeated by 230 votes in January and 149 votes in March - and stage a vote before the end of the week.

The European Council has set a deadline of Friday for the PM to secure parliamentary approval for her Withdrawal Agreement if the UK is to leave the EU with a deal on May 22.

If she cannot get it through the Commons, then the UK has until April 12 to propose a different approach or crash out of the EU without a deal.

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