LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Eurosceptic lawmakers in Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party made the case to her to delay Tuesday's vote on her revised Brexit deal, Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen said.

Bridgen said some former doubters of the deal would now support it after May won last-minute assurances from the European Union late on Monday night, but many would wait and see whether Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party backed it. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison)</s>LONDON (Reuters) - European shares ticked up on Wednesday, shrugging off mounting concerns over world growth amid optimism that British lawmakers were set to rule out a no-deal Brexit - hopes that also helped the British pound rally by half a percentage point.

Britain’s parliament is due to vote at 1900 GMT on whether the country should leave the EU on March 29 without a deal. It is widely expected to reject what would be an economically disruptive move, increasing the possibility of a delay in Brexit.

Bucking a somber mood in Asia, the pan-European benchmark gained 0.3 percent, with British, German and French bourses all rising. Wall Street was also set to open higher, futures show.

Earlier in the day, MSCI’s Asia-Pacific equity index had lost 0.3 percent as fresh data reinforced a picture of a slowing world economy.

Japan’s machinery orders fell in January at the fastest pace in four months, pushing the Nikkei down more than 1 percent.

Australia also continued its run of weak numbers, as an index of consumer sentiment slipped in March. U.S. monthly inflation rose, according to Tuesday data, but the gain was the smallest since September 2016.

That has compounded growing concerns over U.S.-China trade talks, with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer saying it was unclear whether gaps between the two sides could be closed.

“Markets are still hopeful for a U.S.-China trade deal — my concern is that this is not necessarily going to ride to the rescue of the weak economy ... ,” said Steve Barrow, G10 strategist at Standard Bank. “That means riskier financial assets like equities are going to struggle from here.”

The jitters have kept MSCI’s world index off the 4 1/2-month highs it touched when Washington and Beijing appeared close to a trade agreement. The index has failed to make headway in March after two months of gains.

Britain’s political chaos has also weighed on wider sentiment after parliament rejected on Tuesday for a second time Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

The pound rose on Wednesday ahead of lawmakers’ expected rejection of the no-deal Brexit option, even though that vote will lack legal force.

Sterling touched as high as $1.3290, up from lows of $1.2945. By late morning, it was trading 0.7 percent higher at $1.3150. UK bonds nudged lower.

Still, UBS analysts said that even if lawmakers rejected no-deal Brexit, the eventual outcome was still unclear. It advised clients to “remain cautious and avoid chasing short-term rallies in sterling or increasing exposure to UK equities”.

The other saga convulsing world markets this week has been Boeing’s shares, as more and more countries ground its 737 MAX 8 planes after Sunday’s crash in Ethiopia, the model’s second fatal recent crash in les than six months.

Boeing’s Frankfurt-listed shares lost as much as 2 percent to trade at six-week lows. A 6 percent fall in New York on Tuesday pushed the Dow down 0.4 percent.

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will remain patient on rates and may sound more dovish at next week’s meeting had taken U.S. 10-year bond yields to 10-week lows at 2.596 percent on Tuesday, and pushed the dollar lower for a fourth straight day against a basket of currencies.

Yields on 10-year German bonds, viewed as one of the safest assets in the world, were a touch higher but within sight of more than two-year lows hit last week.

The Australian dollars slid 0.5 percent, whacked by Australia’s weak consumer confidence figures. That dragged the New Zealand dollar down, too.

The euro was flat against the dollar around $1.129, up from the 20-month lows of $1.1174 it hit after the European Central Bank pushed back its rate-rise schedule and announced a cheap-loans program for banks.

On commodity markets, the dip in the dollar helped gold hit its highest in two weeks at almost $1,307 per ounce.

Brent crude oil futures edged up around 0.3 percent to $66.89 a barrel, buoyed by an official forecast showing slower-than-expected U.S. production, and as U.S. sanctions stall exports from Venezuela.</s>UK prime minister confirms Parliament will get to vote between no-deal Brexit and delaying departure from EU

LONDON (AP) — UK prime minister confirms Parliament will get to vote between no-deal Brexit and delaying departure from EU.</s>London, United Kingdom - With the clock counting down to Britain's scheduled departure from the European Union, UK legislators have voted down embattled Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time this year.

A second so-called "meaningful vote" on Tuesday ended with another heavy defeat for the prime minister, with 391 MPs voting against and 242 supporting the deal.

The last time May put the agreement to parliament, in January, she again suffered a major defeat as the deal agreed with the EU over 18 months of painstaking negotiations was defeated by a margin of 230.

This time it was 149.

Tuesday's vote came just 24 hours after May made a last-minute dash to Strasbourg for a meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission. Two documents were published as a result of the meeting, which May said would deliver the legally-binding changes to the withdrawal agreement MPs had asked for.

But it soon became clear that those changes would not be enough to win the vote.

"We recognise that the prime minister has made limited progress in her discussions with the European Union. However in our view sufficient progress has not been achieved at this time," said a spokesperson for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), May's ally in Northern Ireland.

May had been tasked with securing changes to the so-called "backstop" protocol of the withdrawal agreement, which critics in the hardline wing of her ruling Conservative Party and the DUP say would trap the UK within the EU's trade rules indefinitely, or see Northern Ireland being treated differently from the rest of the country.

They asked for either a time limit on the backstop, or a unilateral exit clause for the UK.

The attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, published his legal opinion on the new documents saying that they did not fully eliminate the risk of the UK getting stuck in the backstop. When questioned by MPs on his statement, he did say, however, that the documents contain provisions to ensure a "significant reduction in that risk".

What happens now?

May promised to hold two more votes in the coming days. The first, on Wednesday, will see MPs decide on whether to rule out a no-deal Brexit, 16 days before the UK's scheduled departure from the bloc on March 29.

If legislators opt against departing without an agreement on future relations, the government will hold another vote the following day on whether to request an extension to Article 50 - the exit clause in the EU's constitution - from Brussels in a bid to buy more time as it seeks to strike a different divorce deal.

Such an extension could be short-term or long-term. The latter however, would mean the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections on May 23-26, a scenario the prime minister wants to avoid.

A longer extension could also create the momentum for a second referendum campaign, particularly now that the main opposition Labour party supports it.

"I profoundly regret the decision this house has taken tonight," May said in a speech after Tuesday's vote, adding that extending a departure from the EU would not solve the UK's current political impasse.

"The EU will want to know what the house wishes to do with an extension. Does it wish to revoke Article 50? Does it wish to hold a second referendum? Or does it want to leave with a deal but not this deal? These are unenviable choices, but thanks to the decision that the house has made this evening, they are choices that must now be faced."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the result meant May's plan for leaving the EU was "dead" and called on the government to adopt his proposals for an alternative departure from the bloc.

The EU has said no other terms of withdrawal are available to the UK other than the deal brokered with May during months of fractious back-and-forth negotiations, however.

A spokesperson for European Council President Donald Tusk said the second rejection of the agreed withdrawal plan "significantly increased" the risk of a "no-deal" divorce.

"Should there be a UK reasoned request for an extension, the EU27 will consider it and decide by unanimity," the spokesperson added, citing the 27 members of the bloc minus the UK.

The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, meanwhile, said the bloc had done "everything it can to help get the Withdrawal Agreement over the line".

"The impasse can only be solved in the UK. Our 'no-deal' preparations are now more important than ever before," Barnier said in a tweet.

The EU would have to sign off any decision made this week at the next EU council summit on March 21-22.</s>The House of Commons is expected to vote against a "no deal" Brexit, although this could still happen on March 29 unless parliament can agree on what should happen instead.

MPs on Tuesday rejected for a second time the withdrawal deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May, despite her obtaining last-minute assurances from EU officials.

Some eurosceptics are now pressing to leave with no deal, but May warned this scenario could cause "significant economic shock" and many MPs agree with her.

If the "no-deal" option is voted down, the government is planning another Commons vote on Thursday on whether or not to request a Brexit delay.

But May warned: "Voting against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not solve the problems we face."

"The EU will want to know what use we mean to make of such an extension. This House will have to answer that question," she said, her voice half-breaking due to a cold.

"Does it wish to revoke Article 50?" she said, referring to the Brexit process. "Does it want to hold a second referendum? Or does it want to leave with a deal but not this deal?"

British media have reported that May could make a desperate attempt at a third vote on her deal, hoping that Brexit hardliners will fall in line.

But Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, said the text was "clearly dead" and urged her to back his own plan for closer economic ties with the EU.

A group of lawmakers will on Wednesday put forward an alternative proposal to delay Brexit until May 22 and agree a series of interim agreements with the EU lasting until 2021.

But Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said Brussels had nothing more to offer and must now brace for the possibility of a messy divorce.

"The EU has done everything it can to help get the withdrawal agreement over the line," he tweeted after Tuesday's result

"The impasse can only be solved in the #UK. Our 'no-deal' preparations are now more important than ever before."</s>British MPs must decide on Tuesday whether to back Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal in a vote that could clear the way for Britain to leave the EU on March 29.

As the scheduled departure date loomed nearly three years after Britons voted to leave, May wrung last-minute changes to the deal from the EU in a trip to Strasbourg on Monday evening.

On Tuesday her allies were weighing up whether or not the changes were enough to bring them onside.

They include Brexit supporters in her Conservative Party and their allies in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) — both of whom rejected the deal in January.

Their support will be crucial in determining whether the deal will sink or float, just 17 days before Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union after 46 years in the fold.

All eyes will be on Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, the government’s chief legal advisor.

He will publish updated advice on the Brexiteers’ key concern: whether Monday’s new agreements could still leave Britain trapped in a permanent customs union with the EU against its will.

“It’s make your mind up time for all of us,” Environment Secretary Michael Gove, one of the few Brexiteers left in the cabinet, told BBC radio.

“If we don’t take the prize tonight, the risk is that we will see a diluted, softer or less palatable Brexit deal.”

The vote in parliament’s lower House of Commons is scheduled to take place from 7:00 pm (1900 GMT).

May raced to Strasbourg late Monday for last-ditch talks with EU leaders in a bid to salvage the Brexit deal agreed between them.

The two sides then announced a three-part package of legally-binding changes to the old agreement.

They are aimed at addressing the key sticking point for British MPs when they rejected the deal in January: the so-called backstop plan to keep the land border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland free-flowing.

“Now is the time to come together, to back this improved Brexit deal, and to deliver on the instruction of the British people,” May said.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said: “It’s this deal or Brexit might not happen at all… There will be no third chance.”

But late Monday, Britain’s main opposition Labour Party announced it would vote against the deal.

The agreement “does not contain anything approaching the changes Theresa May promised parliament”, said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Their rejection of the deal makes the response of the Conservative rebels and the DUP all the more important.

Another defeat on Tuesday would tee up additional votes on the way ahead.

If the deal is voted down, MPs will vote on Wednesday on whether Britain should simply leave on March 29 without any deal at all.

That option is fraught with economic dangers and is backed only by hardcore proponents of the divorce.

If MPs vote against a “no-deal” scenario, they would vote again on Thursday on requesting a delay to Brexit from the EU.

The other 27 nations would need to back the extension unanimously and decide how long it should be. Their leaders will meet in Brussels for a summit on March 21-22.

Juncker on Monday said a delay beyond European Parliament elections at the end of May would mean Britain would have to take part in the polls.

The problematic backstop was designed to keep the border on the island of Ireland — between EU member the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK — invisible and free-flowing.

If new trade arrangements between Britain and the EU cannot be agreed, the UK would stick closely to EU trade rules until the sides reach a new trade deal.

But those who back Brexit fear getting trapped in a quasi-union with Europe indefinitely.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar welcomed the new guarantees agreed by May and Juncker

“Brexit has been a dark cloud over us for many months, and particularly the threat of no deal,” he said in a statement.

“A positive vote tonight can remove that cloud and restore confidence and optimism in Britain, Ireland and across the European Union.”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also said he was pleased with the agreement.

“An orderly Brexit is crucial for both the EU and the UK. I hope that the House of Commons will support the agreement reached by Theresa May. There is no alternative,” he said.

The pound extended its rally in Asian trade on Tuesday. Sterling has risen about 1.5 percent against the dollar since late Friday, while it is up around two percent on the euro.</s>Brexit chaos continues with new vote that could remove option of leaving EU without a deal

Brexit chaos continues with new vote that could remove option of leaving EU without a deal

BRITISH MPs have narrowly voted against leaving the European Union with no deal in a non-binding vote - just 16 days before the country is due to split from the EU.

Previous votes had indicated only a minority of the House of Commons supported crashing out without a deal.

A no-deal departure would cause chaos at the border and trigger at least a short-term economic shock.

There is concern the chaos would spread to markets and supply chains, and others fear it could cause shortages of food and medicines.

UK Members of Parliament voted on Wednesday night at 7pm local time GMT (6am Thursday Australia time) on whether the UK should crash out of the EU without a deal.

The EU is most likely to agree to a short extension for Britian to leave the EU after March 29, possibly through to May before elections to the European parliament are held.

Other options could be a second referendum or a snap election. There is also speculation cabinet Ministers could call on Prime Minister Theresa May to quit.

Mrs May has angered pro-Brexit members of her party by backing the delay with some telling The Sun a split in the party could not be avoided.

"The party is going to be fundamentally divided over this. We're totally f****d," one said.

A group of Conservative MPs from across the Brexit divide, including have tabled an amendment to tonight's vote on the so-called "Malthouse compromise".

Their motion called for a post-Brexit transition period of up to three years even in a No Deal scenario, which would give both sides the time to establish a future trade deal.

Mrs May initially planned to order MPs to vote against the amendment, but reportedly changed her mind after a tense Cabinet meeting where pro-Brexit ministers said she must leave it up to individuals.

But in a sign of the danger the UK now finds itself in, even that is far from certain to actually happen.

Even if the Malthouse plan were approved by the House Commons, the EU would be unlikely to agree a transition period without a comprehensive withdrawal agreement in place.

A defiant Mrs May who is battling a bad sore throat and has almost lost her voice, told parliament: "I may not have my own voice, but I do understand the voice of the country."

She was scathing of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

"He doesn't agree with Government policy, he doesn't even agree with Labour Party policy - he has nothing to offer this country."

The new votes come after Mrs May's Brexit plan suffered a second humiliating defeat 391-242 - a margin of 149 votes, the fourth worst in British political history.

That defeat is what has led to such unpredictable times.

"I continue to believe that by far the best outcome is that the UK leaves the EU in an orderly fashion with a deal, and that the deal we have negotiated is the best and indeed the only deal available," she said last night.

"If the House votes for an extension, the Government will seek to agree to that extension with the EU and bring forward the necessary legislation to change the exit date commensurate with that extension."

She said there are now three tough questions for the Commons to answer.

"Does it wish to revoke Article 50? Does it want to hold a second referendum? Or does it want to leave with a deal, but not this deal?" she asked.

"These are unenviable choices, but thanks to the decision the House has made this evening they must now be faced."

A spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk, representing EU governments, said Britain would have to provide a "credible justification" for any request for a delay.

"We won't know how long that extension will be, that's for them to decide. We won't know what conditions will be attached," Brexit minister Stephen Barclay told BBC radio.

Supporters of Brexit argue that, while a no-deal divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it would allow the UK to thrive and forge trade deals across the world.

The UK government today outlined its plans to eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of goods in a no-deal Brexit.

Unveiling details of a tariff plan that would last for up to 12 months in the wake of a no-deal Brexit, the government said 87 per cent of total imports to the UK by value would be eligible for tariff-free access, up from 80 per cent now.

It also promised not to introduce new checks or controls on goods moving from the Irish Republic to Northern Ireland - a major concern among Irish politicians who feared a hard border could see a return of violence in the province for more than 30 years until the 1998 Good Friday peace accord.

The EU said there would be no more negotiations with London on the Withdrawal Agreement, struck with Mrs May after Two-and-a-half years of negotiations.</s>Britain and the European Union emerged from last-minute talks late Monday to announce they had finally removed the biggest roadblock to their Brexit divorce deal, only hours before the U.K. Parliament was due to decide the fate of Prime Minister Theresa May’s hard-won plan to leave the EU.

On the eve of today’s vote in London, May flew to Strasbourg, France, to seek revisions, guarantees or other changes from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that would persuade reluctant British legislators to back her withdrawal agreement with the EU, which they resoundingly rejected in January.

At a news conference, May and Juncker claimed to have succeeded.

May said new documents to be added to the deal provided “legally binding changes” to the part relating to the Irish border. The legal 585-page withdrawal agreement itself though was left intact.

“In politics, sometimes you get a second chance. It is what you do with this second chance that counts. Because there will be no third chance,” Juncker warned the legislators who will vote late today.

“Let’s be crystal clear about the choice: It is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all,” he said.

May said the changes should overcome lawmakers’ qualms about a mechanism in the deal designed to keep an open border between Britain’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.</s>MPs must decide tomorrow whether the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal after they handed Theresa May another humiliating defeat and robbed the Prime Minister of any control over the Brexit process.

Conservative Brexiteers and the Government’s DUP allies refused to be swayed by last-minute assurances over the Irish border backstop and sent her deal to a second crushing defeat, by 391 votes to 242.

A Commons vote will be held tomorrow night on whether to reject a no-deal Brexit.

READ MORE: Brexit: Sturgeon uses vote defeat to justify Scottish independence push

Mrs May confirmed Conservative MPs would be given a free vote despite insisting throughout the Brexit process that the UK would leave the EU with or without a deal.

A spokesman for European Council president Donald Tusk warned that rejection of the proposed deal for a second time, with just 17 days left until the UK’s scheduled departure “has significantly increased the likelihood of no-deal Brexit”.

Markets-sensitive information was set to be released early tomorrow morning on the import tariffs the UK will impose if it does crash out without a Brexit deal, and on management of the Irish border.

The Chancellor is also expected to set out how the Government will respond to a no-deal Brexit when he delivers the Spring Statement tomorrow.

If MPs reject a no-deal Brexit, they will be asked on Thursday whether to request an extension to Article 50 and delay the UK’s scheduled departure date of 29 March. Mrs May confirmed she would ask Brussels for an extension if ordered to by the Commons, although Downing Street said the Government would only seek a short delay of a few months.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Prime Minister’s deal was “clearly dead” and called for a general election.

“The Prime Minister is threatening us all with the danger of No Deal, knowing full well the damage it will do to the British economy,” Mr Corbyn said.

“The Prime Minister has run down the clock and the clock has been run out on her.“

Nicola Sturgeon said the Prime Minister and the government “should be hanging their heads in shame” and demanded that Brexit be delayed and a no-deal outcome ruled out.

“We now have a government that has effectively ceased to function and a country that remains poised on a cliff edge,” the First Minister said.

“Scotland’s needs and voice have been ignored by the UK Government throughout the Brexit process, and today a handful of DUP MPs held more sway over Scotland’s future than our own national Parliament – that demonstrates more clearly than ever that the case for Scotland becoming an independent country has never been stronger.”

Just 38 Tory MPs who helped deliver a record 230-vote defeat for her deal in January changed their minds after a last-minute dash to Strasbourg to secure assurances on the backstop on Monday, and appeals from the Prime Minister yesterday.

“I profoundly regret the decision that this House has taken tonight,” Mrs May told MPs moments after the result was confirmed.

“I continue to believe that by far the best outcome is that the UK leaves the EU in an orderly fashion with a deal, and that the deal we have negotiated is the best and indeed the only deal available.”

The Prime Minister said the country now faced “unenviable choices” even if MPs vote to delay Brexit.

“Let me be clear,” she said. “Voting against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not solve the problems we face.

“The EU will want to know what use we mean to make of such an extension.”

READ MORE: Brexit: Nicola Sturgeon ‘told she wasn’t bright enough’ to understand May’s deal

With the EU ruling out any further renegotiation of the Brexit agreement, Downing Street did not rule out bringing it back before MPs if they reject no-deal.

Mrs May told MPs they would vote tomorrow night on a motion that states: “This House declines to approve leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement and a Framework on the Future Relationship on 29 March 2019; and notes that leaving without a deal remains the default in UK and EU law unless this House and the EU ratify an agreement.”

Amendments over the next two days are likely to include proposals for a second EU referendum, which the Prime Minister admitted was now an option.

EU leaders warned they would not automatically grant a delay to Brexit, which must be approved unanimously by all 27 other member states.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “Should the UK hand in a reasoned request for an extension, I expect a credible and convincing justification.

“The smooth functioning of the EU institutions needs to be ensured.”

“On EU side we’ve done all that’s possible to reach an agreement,” Mr Tusk’s spokesman said. “It’s difficult to see what more we can do. If there’s a solution to the current impasse it can only be found in London.”</s>The vote is sure to intensify calls for her to either step down, call a general election, or both. Plenty of Conservative lawmakers would like to take her place as party leader and prime minister, but there is no obvious front-runner, and the outcome of a general election is just as unclear.

Mrs. May’s plan, painstakingly negotiated with the European Union, would have set the terms for Britain’s scheduled exit on March 29.

Unless Parliament takes some other action, Britain will leave the bloc on that date without a deal in place, which Brexit hard-liners insist would be fine, but which most lawmakers and economists say would be disastrous.

Parliament is set to vote Wednesday on whether to reject the prospect of a “no-deal” Brexit, and to vote Thursday on whether to seek a postponement of the March 29 deadline.

The bloc would have to agree to a postponement, which appears likely, but the duration of such a delay is uncertain.
The UK's parliament rejects Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal by 149 votes. A vote for leaving the European Union without a deal is scheduled for the thirteenth of March. If Parliament rejects the decision to leave with no deal, the UK could request its withdrawal from the EU be postponed with the unanimous consent of the other 27 member states.