With Theresa May narrowly surviving a no confidence vote after the disastrous Brexit vote, the question is now what comes next.
May will release her ‘Plan B’ on January 21, with debate and vote on Jan. 29, according to the BBC. In a speech after the no confidence vote on Wednesday, she called the result “an opportunity to focus on finding a way forward on Brexit.”
How that happens is unclear as there is no official “Plan B” at the moment. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose support she will likely need, said he won’t join talks over a new plan unless the possibility of a no-deal exit was out of the question. That would likely mean either Parliament accepts the plan or look to another referendum. The country can unilaterally rescind its exit.
After the Brexit vote, May said in a televised address, “Now MPs have made clear what they don’t want, we must all work constructively together to set out what parliament does want.”
But a YouGov poll suggests that trying to understand where the British public stands is as difficulty as knowing what their politicians want.
Overall, 47% of people now think that leaving the EU was a mistake, while 41% say it was the right move. However, only 28% want to stop Brexit, 8% want another referendum, 15% think the country should have accepted the just-defeated deal, 9% want to reopen negotiations with the EU, and 22% are happy to leave without a deal.
Beyond politicians and people, the EU would have to agree to a new plan and it has indicated an unwillingness to significantly change the previous deal.