Theresa May asks EU to delay Brexit until June 30

LONDON. — UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is “determined to get on with Brexit” following an emergency parliamentary debate over her request to delay the UK’s departure from the European Union by three months.

The UK is currently due to leave on March 29, but the British parliament has twice rejected May’s divorce deal with the EU, prompting concerns that the UK could exit the bloc without a deal.

Wednesday’s emergency debate came hours after May wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk to request an extension.

Addressing parliament, May said the UK will not leave the EU on March 29 as planned, and once again urged MPs to back her deal with Brussels to avoid a no-deal scenario.

On Monday, Speaker of the House John Bercow made a surprise decision to not allow a third “meaningful vote” on May’s Brexit plan, forcing the prime minister to seek an extension to allow time to revamp the deal.

In a televised statement from 10 Downing St, May said she shared the frustration felt by many Britons who have “had enough” of endless Brexit debates and infighting – though she did not accept a role in causing it. Instead, she blamed Parliament for the deadlock, and warned that if MPs did not back her deal it would cause “irreparable damage to public trust”.

“It is high time we made a decision,” May said.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Henry Newman, the director of the think tank Open Europe, described May’s speech as “an attempt to get the public behind her deal”.

“But will it actually persuade any MPs?” he asked, before adding: “She’s quite clear that she’s not going to accept a long extension. That’s raising the stakes for the EU.”

David Phinnemore, a European politics professor at Queen’s University in Belfast, said May was “trying to ensure Brexit goes through by putting pressure on MPs”.

Asked about the prime minister saying she did not want to ask for a long extension, Phinnemore commented: “May’s position could change if she is defeated again next week. If she is defeated, the only option she has with the European Council is to seek a lengthier extension.” – Al Jazeera.