Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan narrowly survived a series of votes in Parliament on Tuesday, a struggle that casts doubt on whether she can negotiate an exit deal with the European Union that is acceptable to British lawmakers.
The skirmishes in Parliament, led by the pro- and anti-EU wings of May’s ruling Conservatives, highlight how May’s efforts to bury party divisions over Brexit have instead inflamed them. That undermines the chances for the smooth and orderly withdrawal that businesses say is essential to avoid severe harm to the nation’s economy.
The political unrest heightens the uncertainty surrounding Brexit less than nine months before the U.K. is scheduled to depart from the EU at the close of a two-year window to negotiate divorce terms that are enshrined in the bloc’s treaties.
May faces two major challenges in the months ahead: strike a bargain with Brussels and then persuade Parliament to back it. Failure on either of those means Britain risks crashing out of the EU without a deal.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com
Also popular on WSJ.com:
Elon Musk’s Twitter rant against cave rescuer extreme even for him
Trump questions finding of Russia’s 2016 meddling as he appears with Putin
