British Prime Minister Theresa May has postponed a planned Brexit vote, scheduled for Tuesday in Parliament, avoiding what was expected to be an embarrassing political defeat.
The delay gives May more time to negotiate a deal with the European Union that’s more palatable to Parliament, should she decide to seek changes. However, the E.U. has shown no willingness to sweeten the agreement.
A date for a rescheduled Brexit vote hasn’t been set.
May has faced tremendous backlash over Brexit. The deal, as it’s currently written, would be economically dangerous for the U.K., experts say.
Economists at J.P. Morgan, earlier this month, said the odds of Brexit being abandoned have doubled from 20% to 40%.
May has previously been adamant that it’s her deal or nothing, but she has dropped hints in the past few weeks she could be open to the possibility of there being no Brexit at all—something she previously maintained was not an option.
A European court says legally the U.K. can change its mind.
Brexit in the U.K. has been contentious from the beginning. When it passed in June 2016, it did so with the narrowest of margins, with 52% voting to leave and 48% voting to remain. May has lost political influence since then and MPs from both sides have been critical of the deal she struck.