Theresa May's government narrowly wins key Brexit vote — with concessions

The British government has narrowly defeated a bid to give lawmakers more power over how the U.K. leaves the European Union — but only after offering concessions to a rebellious House of Commons.

By 324 to 298, the House rejected giving legislators power to send the government back to the negotiating table with Brussels if they don't like the terms of the Brexit deal struck with the EU.

To avoid defeat, the government promised to make its own changes to the bill to strengthen Parliament's powers.

The concessions were the latest manoeuvre by a minority government that has been forced to compromise with Parliament or to simply put votes off until a later date because of its inability to force through the policies it backs.

The vote was one of the most important in two days of votes that began Tuesday on the government's EU Withdrawal Bill. The government is seeking to overturn changes made by the House of Lords that soften the terms of the U.K.'s departure from the bloc.

It was held hours after Conservative lawmaker Phillip Lee, who voted in Britain's 2016 referendum to remain in the European Union, resigned as a justice minister so he could vote against the government on the measure.

"The people, economy and culture of my constituency will be affected negatively" by Britain's EU departure and it is "irresponsible to proceed as we are," Lee said.

He called for Brexit, now set for March 2019, to be delayed and for the public to get a second referendum on the terms of any exit deal.

The European Union Withdrawal Bill, a complex piece of legislation intended to disentangle Britain from four decades of EU rules and regulations, has had a rocky ride through Parliament. The upper chamber, the House of Lords, inserted amendments in 15 areas to soften the terms of Britain's departure.

'Respect the result of the referendum'

The government says the changes would have weakened Britain's negotiating position, and sought to alter or reverse them in the Commons.

"We must under all circumstances respect the result of the referendum," Brexit Secretary David Davis told lawmakers as he opened the debate.

Davis said giving Parliament power to direct the government's hand in talks would be "an unconstitutional shift which risks undermining our negotiations with the European Union."

"It's not practical, it's not desirable and it's not appropriate," he said.

Another flashpoint could come when lawmakers vote Wednesday on an amendment seeking to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU.

But the parliamentary problems will not stop there. Rebels have said they will challenge May's plans to leave the customs union during votes on other bills, on trade and customs, which will be brought back to the house some time before July 24.

There is little May can do. After losing her party's majority in Parliament at an ill-judged election last year, she now relies on the support of a small Northern Irish party and the distance between victory and defeat is narrow.

Passions running high

Parliamentary debates about complex legal amendments rarely rouse much heat, but passions run high over anything to do with Brexit.​

May had urged Conservative lawmakers to back the government and show "that we are united as a party in our determination to deliver on the decision made by the British people."

In fact, her party is far from united. May's Cabinet is divided between ministers including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who support a clean break with the EU, and those such as Treasury chief Philip Hammond who want to keep closely aligned to the bloc, Britain's biggest trading partner.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, and the bloc is frustrated with what it sees as a lack of firm proposals from the U.K about future relations.

A paper laying out the U.K. government position, due to be published this month, has been delayed because the Cabinet cannot agree on a united stance.

Ivan Rogers, Britain's former ambassador to the EU, told a committee of lawmakers Tuesday that achieving Brexit would "take years" and be "bloody difficult."

"You should view leaving the European Union as a process," not an event, he said.