What is the Brexit deal and what happens next?

We explain what Theresa May's Brexit deal is and what will happen next.

What is May's Brexit deal?

The PM presented her first Brexit deal after getting the backing of the EU at the end of November.

Many MPs on both sides of the aisle had slammed the Withdrawal Agreement when it was first presented in the House of Commons.

Key points of that deal included:

  • A transition period that will last until December 31, 2020
  • A divorce bill of at least £39bn that will be paid over a number of years
  • EU citizens rights' in the UK and UK citizens' rights in the EU, the "backstop" or customs backup plan if no trade deal is agreed upon by the end of the transition period
  • Finding an agreement before the end of the transition period about EU fishing in UK waters
  • How laws and disputes between the UK and EU will be settled

May scrapped the "meaningful vote" on her deal in the 11th hour in December. She then faced a vote of no confidence in her leadership and survived on December 12.

The vote was postponed until after Christmas.

The PM's first Brexit deal was rejected 432 to 202 votes by MPs in the House of Commons on January 15.

She survived a second vote of no confidence in her government on January 16 by 19 votes.

On January 21, May presented her "plan B" Brexit deal to MPs. Not a lot was explained about how it was changing.

Key things that changed:

  • May will focus on altering the backstop in a way to avoid a hard border
  • She is scrapping the £65 fee EU citizens were going to have to pay for to secure their right to continue to live in the UK after Brexit

What's next for Britain and Brexit?

MPs voted on May's "plan B" deal on January 29.

The UK parliament backed an amendment instructing Prime Minister to demand that Brussels replace the hated backstop — which aims to avoid customs checks on the island of Ireland after Brexit  —with "alternative arrangements".

A majority of MPs backed ruling out a no-deal Brexit although May has rejected this.

A bid by Labour MPs for an extension of Article 50 failed to win votes.

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