Fate Of UK Hinges On Tuesday Parliament Vote On Much Criticized Withdrawal Agreement

The United Kingdom could wake up to a handful of scenarios tomorrow, including a potential call for a new general election if the withdrawal deal is defeated in the House of Commons on Tuesday, or the beginning of an orderly exit if it makes it through the parliament

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2019) The United Kingdom could wake up to a handful of scenarios tomorrow, including a potential call for a new general election if the withdrawal deal is defeated in the House of Commons on Tuesday, or the beginning of an orderly exit if it makes it through the parliament.

If the UK parliament backs the agreement, the deal will then be put to the European parliament, which it is expected to pass. The United Kingdom would then most likely be on track to exiting the bloc on March 29, as scheduled.

However, if the deal is rejected by the parliament, several things could happen. Firstly, Prime Minister Theresa May would have to submit an alternative proposal within three days. The deadline was voted through by the House of Commons last week.

However, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of opposition Labour party, stressed last week that a general election would be necessary if the government lost the vote on the withdrawal agreement.

Janice Atkinson, an independent UK member of the European parliament, believes that there is little chance of a general election. According to her, a delay to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union until the European elections, scheduled for May, is more likely.

"What I think will happen when May loses the vote, is that an extension to Article 50 will be granted up until the EU elections. May will then be rid of Brexiteer [members of the European Parliament] MEPs and then will work with a new European Union to rescind Article 50, ultimately leading to canceling Brexit because it's all too difficult," Atkinson told Sputnik.

Steven Woolfe, also an independent UK member of the European parliament, believes that the United Kingdom should leave at any cost, even if it would mean exiting without a deal and reverting to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

"However the numbers add up in the Commons tonight, May has just one duty and that is to make sure the United Kingdom leaves the European Union on March 29th.

If the only way to break free of the European Union is to leave with a WTO deal, then that is what May must do," Woolfe told Sputnik.

The European parliament member added that the United Kingdom, should it leave without a deal, might be able to get away with not paying the divorce settlement of 39 billion Pounds (or roughly $49 billion).

The United Kingdom Damien Lempereur, a Parisian lawyer and national delegate of the French party Debout la France! has pointed out that the United Kingdom's desire to leave is understandable in light of Europe's "incapacity to manage the issue of migration for years."

"The British would probably be best served by a clean-cut Brexit, with negotiations later on the trade relations between the UK and Europe. The UK and the continent will of course continue to trade goods and we will find together the best way forward," Lempereur told Sputnik.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is closely watching the situation in the United Kingdom as it is mulling over a Dexit idea.

"We hope a 'hard' Brexit if it comes to that will not cause bad disruptions in European trade. Many jobs are involved on both sides of the North Sea and the Channel. But the AfD is also thinking about a 'Dexit', a similar process for Germany, if fundamental changes are not done in the European Union, during the tenure of the next European Parliament, resulting form the elections on May 26, 2019," Joerg Meuthen, a member of the European parliament and of the AfD, told Sputnik.

The possibility of a no-deal Brexit has been mentioned a lot in the run-up to the vote. In late December, the UK government said it was ready to implement no-deal plans in full as the deal's chances to pass the House of Commons seemed to dwindle amid strong criticism.