Theresa May and EU agree Brexit delay

As it currently stands, Britain is due to leave the EU in just eight days. Here's the summary of some key dates until then.

Thursday, March 21: May heads to Brussels for a two-day summit with European leaders, where she will make her case for them to grant an extension to the Brexit process until June 30.

Saturday, March 23: The Prime Minister will return to Westminster to persuade MPs to back her deal. She needs to persuade 75 to flip in order for it to pass.

Monday, March 25: The government must table an amendable motion in the House of Commons in response to its second meaningful vote loss last week. MPs will then have the opportunity to press for votes on alternative Brexit options.

May is also expected to call a third meaningful vote on her Brexit deal next week.

Thursday, March 28: An 11th-hour emergency EU summit could take place on Thursday if May's deal is defeated for a third time and no other agreement has been reached.

Friday, March 29: Britain is still set to leave the European Union at 11 p.m. local time. If May cannot secure an extension, or a deal, it means that the country will crash out of the bloc, an event that could have catastrophic economic consequences.

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Theresa May's attendance at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday was supposed to be the final appearance of a British Prime Minister in the European club before Brexit took place next week.

But after months of wrangling with lawmakers, resulting in a failure to get her deal approved by parliament, May will instead ask her fellow EU leaders for three more months to get Brexit completed.

May's decision to create a dividing line between the people and parliament -- at a time when lawmakers have faced death threats and abuse over Brexit -- enraged politicians on all sides last night, and justifiably so. From someone whose authority is already weakened by her failure to seal the Brexit deal, these comments could be her undoing.

The widespread outrage shows how, once again, May's political tactics have backfired.

As EU leaders now try to wrest control of Brexit back from the UK, the simple truth is that no organization or person is able to take control of the process, and a boat being rowed in three different directions isn't likely to go anywhere and might capsize.

Click here to read more about this from Jane Merrick.

UK lawmakers are furious after Prime Minister Theresa May blamed them for delaying Britain's exit from the European Union in a stern televised address on Wednesday night.

May ducked responsibility for the recent Brexit chaos, and instead gave a stark warning to MPs, telling them it was "high time" they made a decision on her deal.

"Parliament has done everything possible to avoid making a choice," she said in her statement to the nation. "All MPs have been willing to say is what they do not want."

The Prime Minister told the British public "I am on your side," and that the "delay is a matter of great personal regret."

Needless to say, British lawmakers were enraged after May's address.

May finally bowed to the inevitable consequence of her failure to secure the support of parliament for the deal and asked the EU to extend the divorce process.

She'll travel to Brussels on Thursday and beg EU leaders for a delay. Then she hopes to carry out another vote on her twice-defeated deal in the House of Commons next week.

The Prime Minister's address dominated the front pages of newspapers in Britain on Thursday morning.

The Daily Telegraph splashed with "May on bended knee" to the EU, while The Guardian focused on May's blame game: "Don't blame me for Brexit crisis, blame MPs."

The Daily Mirror calls May's address to the nation a "deluded defiance," and describes her as "arrogant" for not taking any responsibility for her "Brexit shambles."

The Sun has photoshopped Theresa May's head onto a character from a British sitcom who played a deluded anarchist. On its front page, it depicts May as raising her fist with the headline "Power to the people."

In its leader column, the paper reiterates that May was the only one with a deal on the table.

"The Sun will not pretend her deal is great. It is just the only one available," it said. "It gets Brexit done, as promised. And it does have merit for Leavers, whatever Tory backbenchers protest."

The Times follows a similar tone, with May's comments leading its front page. It suggested that May had tried to turn voters' anger at MPs.

In its leading article, The Times wrote:

Meanwhile, the Financial Times focused on May's desperate pleas on its front page, and reported frustrations by EU leaders as Brexit talks near the final hours.

“This is a circus that is beyond comprehension,” said one senior EU diplomat working on Brexit. Another senior Brussels figure involved in talks likened it to “dealing with a failed state."