EU needs May to drop her red lines to save Brexit deal

The British parliament's crushing rejection of the Brexit withdrawal deal will not force Europe to renegotiate its terms, but will almost certainly delay the divorce.

And if Brussels gives London a few months' grace it would be to allow Britain to change course and seek closer future ties than Prime Minister Theresa May has so far been ready to accept.

Some in London think May should try to win new concessions or assurances that would allow her to revive a deal that MPs rejected by 432 votes to 202.

Read: 'Humiliated': British press says May 'crushed' by defeat

But EU officials insist there's no room to renegotiate a withdrawal deal hammered out over 18 months of painstaking diplomacy, and experts warn against allowing May false hope.

Nevertheless, the withdrawal agreement came with a political declaration that laid out a road-map to future UK-EU ties, and this could be modified if May drops her red lines.

Britain could then seek a Norway-style association with the EU, remaining a member of a customs union or even the single market, in return for accepting some conditions of membership.

Peter Kellner, visiting scholar at Carnegie Brussels and former head of polling firm YouGov,...