It's Happening: Brexit Vote Passes Parliament; Article 50 To Be Triggered By April

A vote to trigger Article 50, which would make the United Kingdom depart from the European Union, passed the British parliament today by a wide margin. Article 50 must be triggered by the end of March next year, setting up the "Brexit" once and for all. While this is certainly a step in the right direction for those in favor of leaving the EU, the move is largely symbolic and is not actually binding or a certainty that anything will happen.

Britain has taken a significant, although largely symbolic, step closer to Brexit after the MPs voted by a majority of almost 400 to back Theresa May’s plan to trigger article 50 by the end of March. In two votes, Labour and Conservative MPs joined forces to back a Labour motion saying the government should publish a “plan for leaving the EU” before article 50 is invoked, and a government amendment saying the government should invoke article 50 by 31 March. The vote is not technically binding on the government, but it is the first time parliament has backed May’s Brexit timetable, which would lead to the UK being out of the EU by the end of March 2019 (assuming that the two-year withdrawal process does not get extended.)

In June, the U.K. stunned the world when it voted to leave the European Union in what was dubbed the "Brexit" vote. In the fallout of Brexit, then-PM David Cameron resigned and was replaced by Theresa May.