U.K.: Facing Defeat, May Calls Off a Vote on Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May called off a fateful House of Commons vote on her Brexit plan on Dec. 10, just a day before it was scheduled to proceed. In doing so, May saved herself from an almost inevitable – by her own admission – defeat. Indeed, the prime minister acknowledged that the so-called Irish backstop, an arrangement to keep the United Kingdom in the European Union's custom union until the two sides can find a better solution to keep the Irish border open, was so controversial that lawmakers would probably have rejected the deal. By kicking the can down the road, May has sought to limit the political damage a negative vote would have caused her government. But while this may buy her some time, it will neither foster unity in a Commons that is deeply divided over Brexit nor, in all likelihood, convince the European Union to introduce...