Theresa May Risks Second Deafening Defeat

British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing the prospect of yet another heavy defeat in next week’s parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal. May is expected to lose by up to 100 votes when British politicians decide on March 12 whether or not to sign her divorce terms into the U.K. statute book, according to The Telegraph.

That would pave the way for U.K. parliamentarians to either opt to crash out of the European trading bloc without a deal in a vote on March 13, or seek to delay Brexit in a vote on March 14. But these votes could be delayed if May decides to try for a third time to get her deal passed in parliament. The U.K. is currently scheduled to exit from the EU with or without a deal on March 29.

May’s chief Brexit envoy Olly Robbins is in Brussels today in a last-ditch attempt to end the stalemate. Sterling was jittery amid the continued uncertainty, dropping from $1.31767 at 07:40 GMT to $1.31568 at 9:20, before reversing some of its losses to trade at $1.31700 around 10:00. Elsewhere, investors are selling their holdings in U.K. property funds at a faster rate than they did in the aftermath of the U.K.’s vote to leave the EU, as fears grow that a disorderly Brexit will cause a real estate price crash.

Brexit Brief: Theresa May faces second heavy defeat of EU exit plans, MarketWatch, Mar 07