The dilemma for Theresa May

British politics enters an unpredictable phase following the massive defeat suffered by Prime Minister Theresa May in parliament over her Brexit policy on Tuesday. Lawmakers straddling the various political parties in the House of Commons rejected her plan by 432 votes, with only 202 voting for her.

In terms of modern history, the defeat was the biggest suffered by a government and showed the massive scale of discontent associated with Britain's plans to leave the European Union at the end of March this year. Obviously, Ms. May tried to present a plan of withdrawal from the EU that would give Britain a respectable way out of the organization.

There was a clear choice between her plan and a withdrawal with no deal. Now that parliament has rejected her proposals, the prime minister will have a hard time trying to convince the EU to come forth with more concessions before London can make its way out of the body.

The conventional course for a British prime minister following a defeat in parliamentary voting is resignation. Theresa May chose not to go down that road but went for the option of facing a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. The no-confidence motion, tabled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, is being put to the test as this editorial is being written.

The government expects to win the confidence of the House, given that the DUP, which has supported the Conservatives since the last election, has made known its intention to support the government. But the victory will be narrow given the current composition of the House of Commons, which means that the prime minister will not have an easy sailing. She has only three days to work out a Plan B following the parliamentary defeat on Tuesday.

At the same time, there is the EU, which has clearly told the British government to make its intentions clear about the March 29 date, the point at which the UK will leave the EU. In simple terms, Ms. May and her government are truly in a bind.

And that situation is likely to persist without any remarkable change coming into it. At the moment, there is little likelihood of a fresh general election that the government can call.

There are then the growing numbers of people who think a second referendum on Brexit might just be the way for the country to reach a definitive conclusion. That possibility has been shot down by politicians and others, who believe that a second referendum is tantamount to showing disrespect to those who voted to leave the EU at the referendum which has now led to the present crisis.

The next few days will be decisive for Britain, indeed for the government. There is as yet little light at the end of the tunnel, with the tunnel getting longer every passing minute.