Crunch time for UK PM May's Brexit deal

(11 Mar 2019) British Prime Minister Theresa May was battling Monday to stave off a new defeat for her European Union divorce deal, with talks deadlocked a day before Parliament is scheduled to vote on the plan. The House of Commons is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to approve a deal it resoundingly rejected in January, and there are few signs of a big shift in opinion. Londoners on both sides of the camp said Monday they just wanted a resolution of a situation that had been dragging on for far too long. Lawmakers' opposition to the deal centers on concerns over arrangements for the Irish border. May's government has been seeking changes, but the EU refuses to reopen the 585-page agreement that it spent a year and a half negotiating. The bloc is frustrated at what it sees as the inability of Britain's divided government to lay out a clear vision for Brexit, and for seeking changes to an agreement that May herself helped negotiate. "Technical" talks aimed at securing concessions from the EU failed to secure a breakthrough over the weekend, and a rumored trip by May to meet EU leaders in Brussels on Monday looked to have been shelved. If Parliament throws out the deal again, lawmakers will vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement, an idea likely to be rejected, or to ask the EU to delay Brexit beyond the scheduled March 29 departure date. May warned last week that any delay could mean "we may never leave the EU at all." Hard-line Brexit supporters in May's Conservative Party said she should postpone Tuesday's vote rather than risk another crushing defeat. May has staked her political reputation on securing an exit deal with the EU, and is under mounting pressure to quit if it is defeated again. She survived a bid to oust her through a no-confidence vote in December, so can't be forced from office for a year. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...