British MPs have voted to wrest control of Brexit from Prime Minister Theresa May for a day in a bid to find a way through the European Union divorce impasse that a majority in parliament could support.

MPs won a vote that will allow them to seize control of parliamentary business on Wednesday by 329 to 302, with three junior ministers quitting after voting against the government.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt and Health Minister Steve Brine resigned, while Business Minister Richard Harrington announced his decision to leave government on Twitter.

In his resignation letter, Mr Harrington said the government’s approach was “playing roulette with the lives and livelihoods of the vast majority of people in this country”.

But the Brexit ministry said in a statement it was “disappointed” by the vote, adding that it “upends the balance between our democratic institutions and sets a dangerous, unpredictable precedent”.

Three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the vote sets up a potentially crucial clash between government and parliament on the best way of ending a bitter political crisis.

MPs will now have the chance to vote on various options, such as revoking Article 50 and cancelling Brexit, holding another referendum, a deal including a customs union and single market membership or leaving the EU without a deal.

But even if MPs decide a majority course of action, the government is not legally bound to follow their instructions.

“The government will continue to call for realism – any options considered must be deliverable in negotiations with the EU,” the Brexit ministry said.

The prime minister earlier said she was “skeptical” about the process, saying similar efforts in the past “produced contradictory outcomes or no outcomes at all”.

“So I cannot commit the government to delivering the outcome of any votes held by this house.”

‘National embarrassment’

Ms May admitted Monday she had still not secured the votes needed to get her own, twice-rejected Brexit deal through parliament, raising again the prospect that Britain could crash out of the European Union in just over two weeks’ time.

Anxious at the deepening crisis in London, EU leaders last week agreed to postpone Brexit to avoid a potentially catastrophic “no deal” divorce on March 29, when 46 years of ties were formally scheduled to end.

But they warned that unless Ms May can persuade MPs this week to support her withdrawal deal, Britain must come up with a new plan by April 12 – or leave its closest trading partner with no deal at all.

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government was a “national embarrassment”, adding: “We will still face the prospect of a disastrous no-deal Brexit.”

The EU had earlier ramped up the pressure by announcing its full readiness to deal with the “increasingly likely” event of a no-deal Brexit in three weeks’ time.

‘Chicken who bottled Brexit’

The British parliament remains deeply divided over Brexit, reflecting the sharp divisions in the country.

MPs have already voted against a “no deal” Brexit but this remains the default legal position unless they agree an alternative.

Ms May went over her own Brexit scenarios at an emergency cabinet meeting earlier Monday.

It followed a weekend of media reports that her own ministers were trying to oust her.

Most of the alleged plotters are Brexit backers who fear the terms of Britain’s departure will be watered down or even reversed.

“Theresa May is the chicken who bottled Brexit,” former foreign minister Boris Johnson wrote in a weekly column for The Telegraph.

“It is time for the PM to channel the spirit of Moses in Exodus, and say to Pharaoh in Brussels – LET MY PEOPLE GO,” he wrote, leaving some room however for possibly supporting her deal.

What happens to her premiership if parliament favours a more EU-friendly Brexit alternative that contradicts her policies is unclear.

Parliament is thought most likely to rally around the idea of keeping Britain in a customs union with the European Union or its single market.

Both of those policies contradict Ms May’s position.

A customs union would keep Britain from striking its own trade agreements with non-EU countries.

A single market would require the government to go back on the PM’s promise to regain control of Britain’s borders and migration policy.

The options

Three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, MPs appear no closer to agreeing on how – or even whether – their country should do so.

Here are the main options being mooted:

Norway

Energy-rich Norway is in the European Economic Area (EEA), meaning it benefits from membership of EU’s single market but does not have a say in the making of its rules.

It must also allow the free movement of goods, capital, services and persons – the EU’s four freedoms – with EU member states.

The big advantage for Britain in such a scenario would be that its financial hub in London remains undisturbed and trade with the EU continues unimpeded.

But critics say it would leave Britain a hostage to EU rules, and also fall foul of the promise of the Brexit campaign to limit immigration.

Canada ‘plus plus plus’

The EU’s recent accord with Canada, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), is considered the blueprint for the EU’s trade deals going forward.

The deal touches on all aspects of the economy, including health and safety norms, and not just the usual cuts to tariffs and import quotas. The plus elements refer to this option going much deeper than the EU-Canada deal.

Both parties would negotiate an agreed level of regulatory cooperation in sectors such as finance, aviation and autos.

No-deal

If no alternative course can be agreed, Britain will default to “third country” status with the EU, with trade relations run on World Trade Organization rules.

This involves tariffs and increased barriers that could disrupt the seamless supply chains that connect Britain and the EU.

While the EU’s average tariff rate for third countries is low – around 1.5 percent – they are bigger in certain strategic sectors: for cars, the rate is 10 percent.

It is unlikely that British products could enter the EU without further border checks.

Second Brexit referendum

Many Remain-backing MPs see a second referendum as the most viable path towards preventing Brexit.

However, there has never been clarity over what the referendum would ask, other than the cross-party People’s Vote campaign insisting that staying in the EU must be one of the choices.

A backbench Labour compromise proposal would see the main opposition party vote through any government deal, on the condition that it was put to a referendum.

However, a majority of MPs earlier this month voted against postponing the Brexit date in order to hold another referendum.

The deal, with a customs union

The existing divorce deal but keeping Britain in the EU customs union.

Committing fully to the customs union would end the dispute over the deal’s provisions for the Irish border, ensuring it remains open after Brexit.

This option is favoured by the main opposition Labour Party but the Conservative Party manifesto pledged to take Britain out of the customs union and the single market.

Cancel Brexit

The most dramatic option would be to cancel Brexit altogether by revoking Article 50, the departure mechanism that set a two-year clock ticking down to March 29, Britain’s supposed exit day.