But would departing on WTO rules be as bad as many people claim? Sputnik spoke with UKIP's Hoong-Wai Cheah for more.
Sputnik: Was it surprising that Theresa May's new deal was rejected? Just why is it so bad?
Hoong-Wai Cheah: It's not surprising at all; for a long time now, Brexiteers have been aware that Theresa May's withdrawal agreement does not really constitute a real Brexit, and for a long time it hasn't been serving the purpose either of the Brexiteers or Remainers.
This is something that clearly the Remainer establishment and most of the MPs in Parliament would probably support, so when it comes to the vote that they are having today — on whether or not to try to go out with no deal or try to renegotiate — I think most being pro-EU would try to push the system through, to have the softest Brexit possible, i.e. no Brexit at all; that's the real danger now.
The EU does have to approve the extension of Article 50, but of course, the EU doesn't want Britain to leave the EU anyway, so they'd probably be more than happy to oblige, so I guess this is where it's going to leave us.
This is a big danger, which is that there could be a big betrayal and that there was no point in having this referendum.
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Sputnik: Would we be in this situation with a different prime minister?
Hoong-Wai Cheah:I think a pro-Brexit prime minister from the start would have greatly helped; but of course it does depend on the competence of the politicians, and as we know, most of the politicians in Westminster are really self-serving and not really all that competent, otherwise they'd be earning big bucks in the private sector.
The views and opinions, expressed in the article are those of Hoong-Wai Cheah and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.