Theresa May wins major Brexit vote in Parliament, hails it as ‘historic decision’

British MPs today voted in favour of a crucial bill to end the UK’s membership in the European Union, a victory for embattled Prime Minister Theresa May who hailed the “historic decision” to back the will of the people.

Lawmakers voted by 326 to 290 in favour of backing the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will now go forward for further scrutiny by MPs.

The bill is aimed at overturning the 1972 European Communities Act, which took the UK into the then European Economic Community (EEC). It will convert all existing EU laws into UK law to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day, scheduled for March, 2019.

May averted a rebellion within her own Conservative party during the post-midnight vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill, which resulted in her government securing a victory at the end of the bill’s second reading debate in the Commons.

A total of seven Labour MPs, however, rebelled against the party line and backed the bill.

May’s Conservative government won the vote with support of the Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which has 10 lawmakers.
Following the tough vote, May issued a statement calling it “a historic decision to back the will of the British people”.

“Although there …read more