UK Prime Minister May survives no-confidence vote

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May survived a vote of no confidence in her government on Wednesday, buying her time to regroup after her Brexit deal was rejected by Parliament earlier this week.

Members of Parliament voted 325 to 306 against the no-confidence motion, which was tabled by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday evening after May's European Union withdrawal plan was heavily defeated.

Having survived the motion, the government remains in power and May is expected to return to Parliament with an alternative Brexit deal next week.

Many observers find it unlikely that she will be able to craft a winning deal in such a short space of time, and the nature of Britain's pending departure from the EU remains uncertain.

Several eventualities remain in play. As things stand, the UK is legally bound to leave the EU on March 29, though the EU could give Parliament more time to pass related legislation.

If no extension is granted and Parliament remains at an impasse, the UK could end up exiting the EU in late March with no deal in place.

While both Corbyn and May have come out against the idea, a second referendum also remains a possibility.

The Brexit process began in 2016 when the Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum. Several campaign groups and a cohort of 71 LabourParty MPs now argue that the public should once again be consulted on whether the UK should remain a member of the EU.

"We must try and remove this government from office as soon as possible," the MPs said in a joint statement on Wednesday. "But the removal of the government and pushing for a general election may prove impossible. So, we must join trade unions, our members and a majority of our constituents by then unequivocally backing the only logical option to help our country move forward: putting the decision back to the people for a final say, in a public vote, with the option to stay and keep the deal that we have."

After months of negotiation with EU member states, May's Brexit deal fell at the final hurdle on Tuesday, when Parliament rejected the plan by 432 votes to 202. More than a quarter of the no votes came from within May's own party.

The margin represents the largest government defeat in the UK in almost a century. Corbyn said his ultimately unsuccessful no-confidence motion would allow Parliament to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government".