U.K.’s May Delays Brexit Vote in Face of Broad Opposition

Decision comes after cabinet meeting and in the face of large-scale opposition in Parliament.

British Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a critical parliamentary vote on her government’s Brexit bill, throwing both her government and her plans for the U.K.’s exit from the European Union into disarray.

The postponement of the vote came after Mrs. May consulted her cabinet Monday, many of whom urged her to pull the vote scheduled for Tuesday rather than suffer a huge parliamentary loss that could topple her government and send the Brexit negotiations spinning into even greater chaos. The British pound dropped to its lowest level in more than a year on the news.

Mrs. May told Parliament the government decided to pull Tuesday’s vote after concluding that widespread concern among lawmakers over the issue of how to manage Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit had put victory in jeopardy.

“If we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow, the deal would be rejected by a significant margin. We will therefore defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow,” Mrs. May said.

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