British Prime Minister Theresa May was defeated in a symbolic vote in parliament on her Brexit strategy on Thursday, undermining her negotiating strength in talks with the European Union to secure changes to the agreement.
Lawmakers voted by 303 to 258 to reject a motion asking them to reaffirm support for May's plan to seek changes to her Brexit deal.
Many pro-Brexit members of her Conservative Party planned to abstain on the vote as they feared she was softening her position on a no-deal departure.
The defeat, which is symbolic rather than binding, stresses how weak May's hand is as she tries to secure changes to her divorce deal from the EU in order to win backing for it in Parliament.
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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 UK is due to leave the EU on March 29.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS)
