Intro
The British Prime Minster has suffered an embarrassing defeat of her Brexit deal, which provoked the country's leader of the opposition to table a motion of no confidence against her government.
Prime Minister Theresa May lost a crucial vote on Brexit by 230, the worst defeat encountered by a British government in modern history.
UK Correspondent Natalie Powell reports.
IN: "The eyes to the right
OUT: SOC
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SCRIPT
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"The eyes to the right 202, the nos to the left 432"
This was the moment the British Prime Minster's Brexit proposal was overwhelmingly voted down by Parliament.
It's a catastrophic defeat. Although not entirely unexpected, as it followed five days worth of debate over the draft Brexit bill, which heard MPs spell out many of their concerns.
Speaking after the vote, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, urged British MPs to clarify their position. She also reaffirmed her commitment to delivering on the Brexit referendum result.
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER
"Nothing about how or even if it intents to honour the decision the British people took in a referendum parliament decided to hold, and people particularly EU citizens who have made their home here and UK citizens living in the EU deserve clarity on these questions as soon as possible."
The Prime Minister also called for opposition parties to confirm whether the government still had the confidence of the House of Commons.
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER
"First we need to confirm whether the government still enjoys the confidence of this house, I believe that it does but given the scale and importance of tonights vote it's right that others have the chance to test that if they wish to do so."
And that call was taken up by leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn
JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER
"The most important facing us is that the government has lost the confidence of the parliament and the country, I have therefore tabled a vote of no confidence in this government and I'm pleased this motion will be debated tomorrow so this house can give its verdict on the sheer incompetence in the government and pass the motion of no confidence in the government"
And so, the British Prime Minster has given herself less than 24 hours to fight for her job.
The DUP party, who prop up her Conservative party Government, have said they will side with the Prime Minster - which should in theory mean she wins and continues in office.
But if she loses her government would fall, and that would trigger a 14 day period in which a new government can be formed and in turn could lead to a general election.
If she does remain in office however, then she will need to establish a Plan B, which could be anything from going full steam ahead with No Deal Brexit plans - in other words crashing out of the EU without a deal. To approaching her opposition to find out what type of deal they would go for, something she has alluded to.
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER
"Every day that passes without this issue being resolved means more uncertainty more bitterness and more ranker. The government has heard what the house has said tonight. But I ask members on all sides of the house to listen to the British people who want this issue settled and work with the government to do just that"
It's a politically uncertain time in Britain, and time is of the essence.
The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on the 29th March
And this defeat combined with the vote of no confidence are major setbacks for the government, as the clock ticks down to Brexit.
SOC