This Brexit flowchart shows just how complicated it’s all becoming

A tangled web of permutations got political Twitter talking on Thursday morning.

A flowchart of possible outcomes from Britain’s Brexit deadlock took the internet by storm on Thursday morning.

Thousands of people across the UK have scratched their heads over the possible permutations as the nation’s future hangs in the balance, on the cusp of a key vote in Parliament over how the country leaves the European Union.

But Prime Minister Theresa May is widely expected to lose the vote next Tuesday over the deal she negotiated with the EU.

So Times journalist Henry Zeffman has created a vast flowchart of possibilities should MPs vote down Mrs May’s deal, a “choose your own adventure” guide to the next few months of Brexit Britain.

In a tweet accompanying a picture of the flowchart he wrote: “So what might happen next? It’s complicated…”

Of the 35 permutations and possible outcomes in which Mrs May doesn’t resign after losing the vote, the most common, according to Zeffman, is that she either resigns later or loses a no confidence vote. Either case would trigger a leadership election.

But just how complicated is it?

Zeffman identified six potential situations with nine possible outcomes, a complex assessment of timelines which started life on the back of an envelope, he said.

Twitter users have not held back in passing judgment on the herculean piece of political journalism.

Has Zeffman lost his mind down the rabbit hole of possibilities?

Can the flowchart be played like a board game?

Does anyone really know what will happen?

Thankfully, Britons won’t have to live all 46 timelines from Zeffman’s Brexit crystal ball.

But which becomes reality is almost impossible to predict.

LONDON (AP) — Keir Starmer will attend a meeting of European Union leaders early next year, becoming the first U.K. prime minister to do so since the country’s departure from the bloc in 2020.

Starmer was invited to the “informal” Feb. 3 meeting in Brussels by European Council President António Costa on Thursday, when the two officials met for talks at Starmer’s office at 10 Downing St.

Starmer’s office said that the prime minister was “pleased to accept the invitation and looked forward to discussing enhanced strategic cooperation with the EU, notably on defense.”

The U.K. and the EU have also agreed to have regular leader-level summits, starting in early 2025.

At Thursday’s meeting, Starmer and Costa discussed support for Ukraine in its almost three-year war against Russia's full-scale invasion, and the fast-moving situation in Syria.

A joint U.K.-EU statement said that they “agreed on the importance of ensuring a peaceful transition towards long-term political stability following the fall of (President Bashar) Assad’s brutal regime.”

Starmer, whose center-left Labour Party was elected in July, says he wants to “reset” U.K. relations with the 27-nation EU after years of acrimony, deepening cooperation on security and restoring some of the trade ties frayed by Brexit.

Although he advocated remaining in the bloc during the 2016 Brexit referendum, Starmer has ruled out reversing the decision, or rejoining the EU’s borderless single market and customs union, which would require the U.K. to accept many of the bloc’s rules.

He also has resisted pressure to agree to a youth mobility deal that would let young people from Britain and the EU live and work in the other’s territory for a time. A Starmer spokesman said there were “no plans” for such an agreement.

President of the European Council Antonio Costa meets with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at 10 Downing Street, in London, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Benjamin Cremel/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with President of the European Council Antonio Costa, at 10 Downing Street, in London, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Benjamin Cremel/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, meets with President of the European Council Antonio Costa, at 10 Downing Street, in London, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Benjamin Cremel/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, shakes hands with President of the European Council Antonio Costa, at 10 Downing Street, in London, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Benjamin Cremel/Pool Photo via AP)