British PM to meet EU leaders in a bid to save Brexit deal

British Prime Minister Theresa May is set for talks Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as she seeks to keep alive a deal for Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

Less than four months until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on March 29, Brexit was plunged into chaos on Monday when May finally acknowledged that British lawmakers would not accept her current deal.

EU Council President Donald Tusk made clear in a Twitter post he has no intention of renegotiating the deal, and he set a Thursday meeting for EU leaders to discuss Brexit.

Without a deal, the options for the world’s fifth largest economy include a last-minute agreement, probably struck in 2019, another EU referendum or national election, or a potentially disorderly Brexit without a deal.

The ultimate outcome will shape Britain’s $2.8 trillion (2.20 trillion pounds) economy, have far-reaching consequences for the unity of the United Kingdom and determine whether London can keep its place as one of the top two global financial centers.

The drama in Britain's parliament followed four days of debate in the House of Commons and a panicky effort by the prime minister to sell the deal to an increasingly disapproving British public. If the vote went forward, lawmakers were set to rebuff May's withdrawal agreement. Defeat would force May out of Downing Street and possibly trigger the fall of the Conservative government.

While May Monday insisted publicly the vote on the withdrawal agreement, on which she has staked her credibility, would go ahead, aides said that privately, Cabinet ministers implored her not to move ahead. They urged her to return to Brussels instead to try to secure more concessions before the House of Commons has the final say.

They argued May was facing a parliamentary defeat of historic proportions and needed to roll the dice. But an alternate plan to return to Brussels to reopen negotiations on the 585-page deal looks doomed. On news of the postponement, the already anemic pound crashed to its lowest level against the dollar in 18 months; it also fell against the euro.

Speaking to a packed and rowdy House of Commons, May said she had "listened to what had been said" during three days of debate. The comments provoked laughter and jeering from lawmakers. "If the vote went ahead, it would be lost by a large margin. So the vote will be deferred," she said. May said the deal in its broad outlines was the best one for Britain.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn dubbed the postponement a humiliation. He said the government had "lost control of events." He told the House of Commons the prime minister should make way for a new government. "The government is in disarray…and people are in a state of despair." Opposition leaders were reportedly discussing tabling either a motion of no confidence in the government or one censuring the prime minister.

Corbyn also secured an emergency session Tuesday to discuss May's move to postpone the vote.