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Parliament deals defeat to May on Brexit agreement

Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a defeat as members of parliament voted to give themselves more influence over the final Brexit deal with the EU, Reuters reported.

The 650-seat parliament voted 309 to 305 on Dec. 13 in favor of an amendment to the EU withdrawal bill requiring passage of a separate measure before any Brexit agreement is implemented. May argued that the amendment would hamper her government's ability to effect an orderly departure.

Former attorney general and conservative lawmaker Dominic Grieve authored the amendment, seeking to give MPs a meaningful vote on the withdrawal deal before it becomes legally binding. "There is a time for everybody to stand up and be counted," Grieve said, criticizing some Conservative Party members for calling him a traitor over his proposed amendment, according to Reuters.

A spokeswoman reportedly said that the government was disappointed by the outcome but added that the amendment would not prevent officials from preparing a statute book for the exit day.

May's team tried to convince Conservatives to support the government's stance up until the last minute of the parliamentary debate, as the government feared that a loss could jeopardize its stature in the Brexit talks, Reuters said.

The setback comes the day before May is set to appear at an EU summit to encourage members of the bloc to advance Brexit talks to the second phase and start discussions on future trade before the U.K. is set to leave on March 29, 2019.