Theresa May faced the prospect of defeat in today’s vote in parliament on her Brexit deal, leaving the country in limbo about its membership of the EU.
May urged lawmakers to take a second look at her deal but parliament appeared set to reject the agreement.
The vote is due to start at 7pm this evening.
May’s hopes of saving the plan will hinge on the scale of her loss: if she limits the size of the expected defeat, May will probably ask Brussels for more concessions in the hope of getting her plan through parliament in another vote.
But a humiliating outcome could force May to delay Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU on March 29 and potentially open up other options ranging from a second referendum to leaving the EU with no deal.
Expect currency markets to be extremely volatile throughout the day.