(CN) — Great Britain was gripped by uncertainty, political drama and chaos Monday as Tory Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a Parliament vote on whether to accept or reject her plan to leave the European Union.
An expedited ruling Monday from the European Court of Justice added more fuel to the turbulence. Europe’s highest court ruled that Britain can unilaterally revoke its decision to withdraw from the European Union. It’s a ruling that could both hinder and help May.
The ruling, though, was overshadowed by May 's announcement to delay a vote scheduled for Tuesday. She said she would seek assurances from European officials that Northern Ireland would not fall under EU rules and customs indefinitely. The question of how to keep the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland free of border checks has been a major sticking point in negotiations over Britain's departure from the EU.
But it's far from clear what kind of assurances May might be able to get from the EU. An EU spokeswoman on Monday said in a news briefing that the deal could not be renegotiated and that this was “the best and only deal possible.”
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank, said it was unlikely EU leaders would give May “more than very minor changes to her deal” and that the aspects over Northern Ireland would remain “unaltered.”
Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29, 2019. May did not say when a vote may occur, but it may end up being pushed back until January or later, news reports said.
The pound sterling plummeted to a 20-month low on Monday and business leaders urged lawmakers to strike a deal. The head of CBI, a major business organization in Britain, warned of a national crisis if a deal cannot be sealed soon. The organization said businesses need clarity about the future.
Concerns are rising that Britain could end up exiting the EU without a deal and be forced to interact with Europe along World Trade Organization rules. The Bank of England warned in November that such a scenario could cause an 8-percent drop in economic growth and a loss of a quarter of the sterling's value.
In advance of the vote, it was widely believed that May’s deal with the EU was doomed and that the House of Commons would vote it down. Many members of May’s Conservative Party feel the deal the prime minister struck gives far too many concessions to the EU and ties Britain to EU rules indefinitely.
The vote was scheduled for Tuesday evening. A loss could leave the prime minister facing a leadership challenge and even the prospect of new elections. The main opposition, the Labour Party, is seeking to bring the Tory government down.
In its ruling, the European Court in Luxembourg said a nation can decide to withdraw from the EU on its own and also can revoke that decision unilaterally. A cross-party group of Scottish lawmakers opposed to Brexit sought clarification on this point to help members of the House of Commons decide how to vote on withdrawal from the EU.