List to be narrowed down, voted on again next week
British lawmakers voted on eight different possible Brexit options Wednesday, but none received the majority support that would clarify the U.K.’s course.
Parliament is trying to find an alternative to Prime Minister Theresa May’s twice-rejected EU divorce deal.
Lawmakers voted Wednesday on options that included leaving the European Union without a deal, staying in the bloc’s customs union and single market, putting any EU divorce deal to a public referendum, and canceling Brexit if the prospect of a no-deal departure gets close.
The strongest support was for a plan to stay in a customs union with the bloc after Brexit, which was defeated by eight votes: 272-264.
Lawmakers plan to narrow the list of options down and hold more votes on Monday.
Britain has until April 12 to find a new plan — or crash out of the EU without a deal.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Theresa May offered up her job in exchange for her Brexit deal, telling colleagues she would quit within weeks if the agreement was passed and Britain left the European Union.
May’s dramatic concession that “there is a desire for a new approach — and new leadership” was a last-ditch effort to bring enough reluctant colleagues on board to push her twice-rejected EU divorce deal over the line.
It looked like it might not be enough, as a key Northern Ireland party said it would not be supporting the deal.
May has been under mounting pressure from pro-Brexit members of her Conservative Party to quit. Many Brexiteers accuse her of negotiating a bad divorce deal that leaves Britain too closely tied to the bloc after it leaves.
Several have said they would support the withdrawal deal if another leader took charge of the next stage of negotiations, which will determine Britain’s future relations with the EU.