Theresa May’s Brexit deal, the product of more than two years of tortuous negotiations in Brussels, was on Tuesday night overwhelmingly rejected by the House of Commons by 432 votes to 202, in a historic defeat.
Mrs May’s loss by 230 votes, one of the biggest defeats inflicted on any government in the past 100 years, sees the prime minister in a race against time to save her deal before Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU on March 29.
Eurosceptic Tory MPs believe Mrs May’s failure in parliament makes it more likely that Britain will leave the EU without any formal deal, allowing a “clean break” from Brussels. Greg Clark, business secretary, has warned that such a scenario would be “a disaster”.