London: British Prime Minister Theresa May has survived a vital No Confidence vote in the House of Commons, averting a snap general election that could have ushered in a Labour government.
Giving her reaction to the result, May told MPs she would "continue to work to deliver on the solemn promise to the people of this country to deliver on the result of the referendum and leave the European Union".
"We must find solutions that are negotiable and command sufficient support in this House," she added.The PM won the vote by a margin of 19, including 10 votes from the DUP. Had the party voted against her, she would have lost by one. Seconds after Speaker John Bercow announced the result 325 in favour of the government and 306 against, May said she intended to start those talks "this evening".
Earlier on Tuesday, May suffered a historic defeat, after the parliament refused her Brexit deal by 432 to 202. After seeing off a challenge that would have triggered a battle for control of Downing Street, May announced she would be having immediate talks with leaders of opposition parties to thrash out a new Brexit deal, BBC reported. Main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on May to rule out "once and for all" a no-deal prospects before any positive discussions took place with party leaders.
In another day of nail-biting drama in the House of Commons, the 10 MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland came to the rescue to save May's Conservative government.
May will return to the House of Commons on Monday to make a statement to MPs about Brexit and to present MPs with an alternative Brexit plan in the hope it has more success than the deal rejected Tuesday by a massive margin of MPs.(UNI)
