Parliament already holds the reins on Wednesday, and will use the time to vote on taking over the timetable on Monday. Organizers of the plan believe they will need two full days to discuss and vote on a range of Brexit options.
A motion published by the Labour MP Hilary Benn, one of the MPs leading the charge to seize control of the Brexit process, revealed that lawmakers will vote simultaneously on a menu of options on Wednesday evening local time. That should reveal which of the various alternatives command the most support. Then, on Monday, MPs will vote on Brexit options in sequence -- creating, in effect, a run-off.
It seems likely that the process will produce a majority for a closer relationship with the European Union than May anticipated in her Withdrawal Agreement. That prospect of a "softer" Brexit prompted some leading opponents of May's deal to switch sides, including prominent euroskeptic Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the the European Research Group, a hardline bloc of pro-Brexit Conservative MPs.
"I have always thought that no-deal is better than Mrs May's deal, but Mrs May's deal is better than not leaving at all," Rees-Mog, said on a podcast on Tuesday.
In spite of the turnaround, May still lacks the numbers needed for her deal to pass. She needs to convince 75 MPs to back a third vote on the widely maligned deal if she is to win by one.
Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props May minority government, has shown no sign of coming round to the deal.
But some of the May's supporters remain optimistic. Conservative lawmaker Andrew Murrison, who has twice supported the deal in the Commons, told CNN there is a chance the DUP's 10 MPs might flip.
but the DUP's Brexit spokesperson, Sammy Wilson, remained implacably opposed on Tuesday, instead calling for a one-year extension to the Brexit process. That would b "a better strategy than volunteering to be locked into the prison of the withdrawal deal," he said.
Indicative votes
The government has said it will not be bound by the results of the indicative votes. "It's incumbent on the government to listen to what the Commons says," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Radio 4. "But we can't pre-commit to following whatever they vote for, because they might vote for something that is completely impractical," he added.
Prior to the votes, May will meet with the influential 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, which has lead to speculation that she will set a timetable for her resignation.
But Alistair Burt, who resigned as a Foreign Office minister in order to vote against Theresa May's government on Monday, told CNN she should not resign, despite failing twice to pass her Withdrawal Agreement.
"Changing leaders at this time would not be helpful," said Burt, a member of May's Conservative Party who supported the motion to hold indicative votes on Wednesday.
"Of course you regret" resigning, Burt added. "But occasionally there are higher principles that you've got to stick to."
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