UK lawmakers prepare to vote on Brexit alternatives

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers were preparing to vote Wednesday on multiple options for leaving the European Union as they sought to bring some clarity to the country’s tortured Brexit process.

In the wake of two overwhelming defeats for Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement with the EU, the House of Commons has taken control of the parliamentary timetable on Wednesday in the hope of finding a way through the impasse.

Lawmakers are holding a five-hour debate on a wide range of Brexit alternatives, after which they will be asked to vote for all of the options they could accept.

The plan is for the most popular ideas to move to a second vote on Monday to find one option that can command a majority.

The debate comes two days after lawmakers took control of the parliamentary agenda away from the government amid alarm that Britain was heading toward a chaotic Brexit within weeks with no exit plan in place.

May has said she will consider the outcome of the “indicative votes,” though she has refused to be bound by the result.

Lawmakers have submitted 16 different options for consideration, though House of Commons Speaker John Bercow is expected to whittle the number down to about half a dozen before debate begins.

The proposals include leaving the EU without a deal, remaining in the bloc’s single market and customs union, and holding a new referendum on Britain’s membership in the bloc.

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