British Prime Minister Theresa May (Front) attends a debate on the Brexit deal amendments in the House of Commons in London, Britain, on Jan. 29, 2019. (Xinhua/UK Parliament/Mark Duffy)
LONDON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Britain's main opposition Labour party came close Tuesday night to upsetting Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.
In what was billed as a night of multi-challenges to her Brexit plans, May was facing a string of amendments in the House of Commons.
Earlier May made an impassioned plea to MPs of all parties to get behind her Brexit strategy to help ensure concessions are made by Brussels.
In the first big vote of the evening the main opposition Labour Party put forward its own flagship policy which called for a parliamentary vote on options to prevent Britain from leaving the European Union without a deal.
The Labour Party also favors Britain remaining in the European Customs Union, and also it wants close ties to the European Single Market.
Conservative MPs, warring among themselves over differing views to Brexit, rallied around May to ensure Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's proposals were beaten.
In the first of up to seven votes of the evening, Labour lost by 327 votes to 296, a majority for the government of 31.
In a second major victory for May, MPs rejected by 321 to 298 a bid by Labour MP Yvette Cooper that would have seen Britain's departure from the EU postponed if a deal with Brussels was not agreed by Feb. 26.
May returned to the House of Commons to make a statement about her Brexit proposals following her crushing defeat a week ago when her Brexit Withdrawal Plan was rejected by the biggest margin ever seen in British political history.
She has been using Tuesday's debate to win support to enable her to return to EU negotiators to demand changes to the rejected deal.
Closing the debate ahead of the voting the Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told MPs that constitutional experts warned many of the amendments tabled would have international and domestic implications.
He said the best way to avoid a no-deal was for all MPs to support May's deal.
The big test for May will come at the closing stages of Tuesday night's proceedings when MPs vote on a move aimed at removing the biggest stumbling block to reaching a deal, the land border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Veteran MP Sir Graham Brady has called for a so-called stopgap measure to prevent a hard border with a more palatable "alternative arrangement" for resolving the border impasse.
May is expected to support the Brady measure which, if it succeeds, would give her strong ammunition in talks with Brussels.
