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Bloomberg
Theresa May is expected to confront her most senior ministers with the potentially explosive option of delaying Brexit by months, as the UK struggles to find a plan for leaving the
European Union.
The British prime minister will hold five hours of crisis talks with her cabinet, with the pro- and anti-Brexit factions in her top team set to clash over the best way forward. According to an official, ministers are likely to be asked to weigh postponing the date for leaving the bloc until potentially year-end or beyond, to allow more time to resolve the deadlock in parliament.
With Britain due to exit the EU on April 12, politicians are no closer to agreeing to a divorce deal.
Members of Parliament rejected all the options that were put forward to replace May’s unpopular plan, which itself has been voted down three times in the House of Commons. The pound weakened.
If she can’t get her Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament before a summit of EU leaders on April 10, May will face a perilous set of options.
She could seek a long delay to Brexit, which would anger euro-skeptics, and use the extra time for a general election or even a new referendum to let voters decide.
A lengthy postponement would force the UK to take part in European Parliament elections next month — something that would enrage the already-frustrated Brexit campaigners in the cabinet and could prompt some to resign.
Members of Parliament will have another chance on Wednesday to take over the Brexit agenda and have a say on what happens next. A proposal to stay in the EU’s trading regime known as the customs union was rejected by just three votes. It could still prevail in another ballot on Wednesday, though Conservative opposition to the proposal is strong.
Speculation has been mounting that May will call a general election as the only way out of the impasse. Her decision to call an unusually long cabinet meeting further fuelled expectations that Britain might be heading for its second election in as many years.