Brexit deal LIVE Updates: Will May rise after her previous defeat or will the Parliament push for softer exit?

Brexit deal LIVE Updates: If the motion does not pass by popular majority, it could become a catastrophe, exposing that May's deal is unpopular.

Brexit deal LIVE Updates: Will May rise after her previous defeat or will the Parliament push for a softer exit? — In this grab taken from video, Britain”s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during the Brexit debate in the House of Commons, London, Tuesday March 12, 2019. (House of Commons/PA via AP)

Britain’s exit from the European Union hung in the balance on Tuesday after Prime Minister Theresa May’s newly won assurances on her divorce deal failed to win over the main Brexit faction in her Conservative Party hours before a vote in parliament. This second round of voting on the Brexit deal comes nearly after two months, after May’s historic defeat in January by 230 votes. The earlier round pivoted largely on the objections to the deal. Post the defeat, May had promised MPs that she would secure a unilateral exit mechanism, a time limit or an alternative arrangement.

While it is still unclear if the motion will pass the House today, as May still needs to persuade a majority of the authorities in the Conservative and Democratic Unionist party. If it does not pass by a popular majority, it could become a catastrophe, exposing that May’s deal is unpopular. Under the intense pressure from the MPs, it would then left for the parliament decide on the upcoming plan- mostly, for a softer Brexit. Though May cannot be challenged until December as Conservative Party rules, it could mean a major blockade for her position.

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Theresa May claims Brexit breakthrough ahead of crunch vote

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May claimed to have secured the breakthrough required to get her Brexit withdrawal agreement through a crunch vote in Parliament on Tuesday, two weeks ahead of the country's divorce from the EU. However, with UK Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox confirming that the legal risk from the controversial Irish backstop "remains unchanged", her Conservative Party's hard-Brexiteers refused to back the so-called "improved" divorce arrangement, leaving Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) still precariously poised ahead of the March 29 Brexit deadline. (PTI)

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Hello, Welcome to The Indian Express LIVE Blog as we track the developments surrounding Britain's departure from the European Union, a.k.a Brexit.

May had arrived in Strasbourg for her last-ditch talks with senior European Union officials last night during which she declared that the guarantees she secured from them achieve the 'technically binding changes'. March 29 has been declared as the final deadline for the Britain's exit from the European Union.

British Prime Minister had declared that she has secured the breakthrough which was required to get her the Brexit withdrawal agreement through a crunch vote in Parliament today evening. However, British MPs are still unsure of the legal ramifications, which looms ahead of the March 29 deadline.

In Strasbourg, May emerged alongside European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker to declare that the UK and EU have agreed “legally binding” changes to the controversial Irish backstop clause to ensure any such arrangement would not be permanent. “MPs were clear that legal changes were needed to the backstop. Today we have secured legal changes. Now is the time to come together to back this improved Brexit deal,” May said at a joint press conference with Juncker.

Meanwhile, in a sharp warning to the Britain MPs over the importance of the parliamentary vote today, Juncker had said, “In politics, sometimes you get a second chance. There will be no third chance… it is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all.”