London (Web Desk): Britain's Parliament is due to determine the fate of Prime Minister Theresa May’s unpopular plan for exiting the European Union on Tuesday.
After last-minute talks with the EU on Monday, May announced that the biggest roadblock to her Brexit divorce deal had been removed: legally binding changes relating to the status of Ireland's border with Northern Ireland.
May now needs to persuade skeptical British lawmakers to back her withdrawal agreement with the EU, which they overwhelmingly rejected in January.
"Now is the time to come together, to back this improved Brexit deal, and to deliver on the instruction of the British people." – PM @Theresa_May pic.twitter.com/W04QYSC6C3
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) March 11, 2019
The vote is expected around 7 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET).
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in less than three weeks and Tuesday's vote is one of the last opportunities for May to get backing for her agreement from Parliament.
"In politics, sometimes you get a second chance. It is what you do with this second chance that counts. Because there will be no third chance," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a press conference with May late Monday.
"Let’s be crystal clear about the choice: it is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all," he said. The European Commission is the EU's executive branch. Juncker warned Britain there will be no new negotiations if lawmakers rejected the deal again.
