In Humiliating Defeat For May, Brexit Deal Rejected By Overwhelming 230-Vote Margin

[DamianTV]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019...ces-historic-defeat-voting-brexit-deal-begins

Update 10: After trending steadily lower ahead of the vote, the pound roared into the green as the Commons adjourned for the day, as traders realized that analysts who had warned about a spectacular defeat of May's deal being good for the pound may have been on to something.

With hundreds of Labour MPs preparing to pivot toward a second referendum this week, it appears more of Jeremy Corbyn's positions are being foisted upon May as she scrambles to figure out what's next for her deal.

and scene: UP TO 100 LABOUR MPS WILL PIVOT TO SECOND REFERENDUM TOMORROW MORNING- SKY DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 15, 2019​

And even May's own cabinet is expected to pressure her to change course and advocate for staying within the customs union - something that is anathema to hard Brexiteers.

What will Theresa May do next?

Government sources say she will now come under 'huge pressure' to tack to a Customs Union - both from within her Cabinet and and without.

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) January 15, 2019​

And in a potential threat to the pound and May's government, Labour has indicated that it will try again if it loses the no confidence vote against May tomorrow.

New:

Labour indicates it will try again if it fails to win the confidence vote tomorrow.

So just as PM went into meaningful vote today knowing she would lose, so Labour will go into confidence vote tomorrow expecting defeat.

Plus ça change

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— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) January 15, 2019​

If May loses the vote, Labour has made clear that all options - including a second referendum - are on the table.

And even if she wins, May and the EU have now gotten the message loud and clear: May's deal is unworkable. If the EU refuses to compromise, a no deal Brexit is also clearly not going to work, since Parliament last week adopted an amendment to make sure such an outcome would require its explicit authorization.

At this point, a delay of Article 50 is looking extremely likely, unless May can win some serious concessions from the EU. But all the bloc needs to do now is dig in its heels and refuse to budge on the deal, and there will suddenly be a strong possibility that Brexit will be killed.

Though one currency strategist for TD Bank argued that it's tough to get excited about the pound since the situation is so uncertain.

"While we have bounced since, we struggle to get excited about sterling’s upside here," said Ned Rumpeltin, European head of FX strategy at Toronto-Dominion Bank. "We could see some market participants begin to think that the next move will be in favor of a ‘No Brexit’ outcome, but there is still a lot of blue water between here and there."​

But one thing is for sure. If there is a Brexit, it could be even softer than the deal currently on the table, as May said after the vote that May would begin cross-party talks - possibly including Labour Jeremy Corbyn - later this week, though Corbyn was quick to reject the offer in his statement.

Despite Tuesday's surge in optimism about the possibility that Brexit could be foiled, the pound remains 15% below its pre-Brexit level. And according to a group of economists polled by Bloomberg, the best-case scenario would be another poll on whether Britain should leave the EU, which would boost the currency to $1.35. The worst case would be leaving with no deal , which could see the pound drop to $1.15.

As we noted in the tweet below from European Council President Donald Tusk, the EU27 isn't thrilled about the outcome of the vote. Soon, we may see more bureaucrats hinting non-too-subtly that maybe its time for the UK to rethink the whole Brexit process, democracy be damned.

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(Updates #9 thru #2 available at Link at top of Ron Paul Forums Post...)

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Update: The voting has just begun but there's already been a handful of surprises. Three of the four accepted amendments have been dropped, so voting will proceed on the final amendment (the Baron amendment, backed by a cross-party group of legislators) before proceeding directly to the motion to pass.

MPs begin their #BrexitVote, starting with amendment by Conservative MP John Baron

Live updates: https://t.co/EdKCKRvfxY pic.twitter.com/DeTIVkXA8O
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 15, 2019​

317 is the magic number needed for the motion to pass.

Bloomberg now expects the final tally to arrive by 2:30 pm ET. Cable is flat as voting begins.

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After months of fractious negotiations during which Theresa May has repeatedly tried - and failed - to win over intransigent Tories and members of the small Northern Irish party upon which she depends for her tenuous Parliamentary majority, May's supremely unpopular Brexit withdrawal deal is finally coming up for a vote in the House of Commons.

Almost nobody, including May herself, expects it to pass. In fact, most analysts expect the deal to be defeated by a wide margin of at least 150 votes, which would be tantamount to the worst defeat for a British government in 95 years, according to Bloomberg.

At least 70 members of May's party have publicly pledged to oppose the deal, and members of the Brexiteer European Research Group have also vowed to vote down each of the four proposed amendments that MPs will be decided before the deal comes up for a vote.

The debate and the votes will be broadcast live from Westminster following a speech from May. Readers can watch the action below:

Full article at link.

Also, Vote of No Confidence for Theresa May up next. Guess the Brits are pissed about funny money...