Brexit or not Brexit?

On 29 March 2019, the House of Commons voted against a government motion for the approval of the withdrawal agreement (but not the political declaration).

This means that the UK is now due to leave the EU on 12 April 2019 without a deal, under the European Council's terms for extending the Article 50 period, unless a further extension is agreed or the Article 50 notice is revoked.

However, the result of the vote gives fresh impetus to the indicative voting process, which gained support due to the risk of leaving without a deal on 12 April 2019.

The strongest contenders from the votes were a customs union; a confirmatory public vote and Labour’s alternative plan (which includes a permanent customs union and close alignment with the single market). However, none of the motions carried a majority.

In response to the Commons vote against the government motion, European Council President Donald Tusk announced that there will be a special European Council meeting on 10 April 2019.