May urges U.K. legislators to allow more time to get Brexit deal

​With Brexit just 47 days away, the British government is asking legislators to give Prime Minister Theresa May more time to rework her divorce deal with the European Union.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said Sunday that parliament would get another chance to pass judgment on May's Brexit plan "by no later than Feb. 27."

The promise is a bid to avert a showdown on Thursday, when parliament is set to vote on the next moves in the Brexit process. Some MPs want to try to steer the country toward a softer exit from the bloc.

Britain is due to leave the European Union on March 29, but parliament has rejected May's divorce deal, leaving the prime minister to seek changes from a resistant EU.

The impasse risks a chaotic "no deal" departure for Britain.

May has been seeking changes to the deal with Brussels since it was rejected by a record majority in parliament on Jan. 15.

She has said she wants to bring a revised deal back to parliament for a vote "as soon as possible" but has not yet set a date for doing so.

Not as good 'as it is now'

Meanwhile, the head of the International Monetary Fund on Sunday warned that the British exit from the EU means it "will never be as good as it is now" for the country's economy.

Christine Lagarde spoke at the World Government Summit in Dubai, where she didn't hesitate to criticize Britain's upcoming departure from the EU, known as Brexit.

 "I'm certain of one thing, is that it's not going to be as good as if they had not been Brexit, that is for sure," Lagarde said.

"Whether it ends well, whether there is a smooth exit given by customs unions as predicated by some, or whether it's as a result of a brutal exit on March 29 without extension of notice, it's not going to be as good as it is now."

U.K. businesses fear a possible "no-deal" Brexit with the EU will cause economic chaos by imposing tariffs, customs and other barriers between Britain and mainland Europe.