LONDON (AP) The alarms are flashing, the cliff-edge is coming closer but can Britain avoid tumbling out of the European Union?
After lawmakers rejected the governments Brexit deal on three occasions, and twice failed to agree on any other option, the U.K. has just 10 days to come up with a new plan or crash out of the EU.
A look at what might happen next:
No deal
Michel Barnier, who has been the chief Brexit negotiator for the other 27 EU countries, has warned that a no-deal Brexit is likely because of Britains political impasse.
Earlier this month, the EU agreed to postpone the original Brexit date of March 29, but gave Britain only until April 12 to come up with a new plan and seek a further extension, or leave without an agreement or a transition period to smooth the way.
Most politicians, economists and business groups think leaving the worlds largest trading bloc without an agreement would be damaging for the EU and disastrous for the U.K. It would lead to tariffs imposed on trade between Britain and the EU, customs checks that could cause gridlock at ports and which could spark shortages of essential goods.
A hard core of Brexiteer legislators in Mays Conservative Party dismiss this as Project Fear and argue for what they call a clean Brexit. But most lawmakers are opposed to leaving without a deal. Parliament has voted repeatedly to rule out a no-deal Brexit but it remains the default position unless a deal is approved, Brexit is canceled or the EU grants Britain another extension.
May says the only way to guarantee Britain does not leave the EU without a deal is for Parliament to back her deal, which lawmakers have already rejected three times.
Mays undead deal
After almost two years of negotiations, Britain and the EU struck a divorce deal in November, laying out the terms of the departure from the bloc and giving a rough outline of future relations.
But it has been roundly rejected by lawmakers on both sides of the Brexit divide. Pro-Brexit lawmakers think it keeps Britain too closely tied to EU rules. Pro-EU legislators argue it is worse than the U.K.s current status as an EU member.
Parliament has thrown it out three times, although the latest defeat, by 58 votes, was the narrowest yet. It was rejected even after May won over some pro-Brexit lawmakers by promising to quit if it was approved.
Soft Brexit
On Monday, Parliament voted on four alternative proposals to Mays rejected deal after lawmakers seized control of the schedule from the government.
None got a majority, but the votes revealed a solid block of support for a soft Brexit that would maintain close economic ties between Britain and the EU. A plan to keep the U.K. in an EU customs union, ensuring seamless trade in goods, was defeated by just three votes.
May has ruled those options out, because sticking to EU trade rules would limit Britains ability to forge new trade deals around the world.
But tweaking her deal to adopt a customs union could gain May valuable votes in Parliament. It also would likely be welcomed by the EU and would allow Britain to leave the bloc in an orderly fashion in the next few months.
However, it would also cause a schism in the Conservative Party, sparking the potential resignation of pro-Brexit government ministers.
