The UK Parliament has underscored Prime Minister Theresa May's promise to give members of parliament a vote on whether to delay Brexit rather than leave the European Union at the end of March without a divorce deal.
The House of Commons voted 502 to 20 on Wednesday in favour of a motion backing May's commitment to hand lawmakers a say in the Brexit process if she can't win backing for her withdrawal deal by March 12.
May said Tuesday that lawmakers would get to vote March 13 on whether to leave the EU with no deal, and to vote again the next day on whether to seek to postpone the scheduled Brexit day of March 29.
Wednesday's vote in the House of Commons was a symbolic move designed to ensure the government doesn't try to wriggle out of the promise.
Lawmakers backed her promised timetable, but British citizens and businesses will now remain in the dark about their European Union departure until the final weeks or even days before the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party announced it would now support a new public vote on Brexit, the first time since Britain voted in 2016 to leave the EU that one of its main parties has backed giving voters a chance to change their minds.
British lawmakers voted 323-240 against an opposition Labour proposal for a permanent customs union with the EU, triggering the change.
The vote would be intended to help the public reject a damaging EU exit.
Another measure, calling on the government to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the event of a no-deal exit, was also passed with government support.
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