Theresa May survives confidence vote

Theresa May survived a vote of no confidence in her government Wednesday and immediately embarked on cross-party talks to try to salvage a Brexit deal for the U.K.

The prime minister won the vote, called by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by 325 votes to 306 thanks to her own Conservative MPs and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) allies remaining loyal. Supporting the no-confidence motion would most likely have meant a general election, which is the Labour Party’s primary goal.

Still, May’s government remains in a deeply precarious position following Tuesday’s overwhelming House of Commons vote against her Brexit deal, which was the largest defeat for a U.K. government in modern history.

After winning the confidence vote, May invited the leaders of other parliamentary parties — including Corbyn — to meet with her individually, starting Wednesday evening.

“The government approaches these meetings in a constructive spirit and I urge others to do the same,” May said following the vote. “We must find solutions that are negotiable and command sufficient support in this House.”

But she later expressed disappointment when Corbyn did not agree to meet her Wednesday, and said her “door remains open.”

Corbyn earlier said that before there could be “any positive discussions about the way forward,” the government must eliminate the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal on March 29.

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