美国有线新闻 CNN 特雷莎·梅在英国议会不信任投票表决中涉险过关（在线收听）

We have a report out of the United Kingdom to kick things off today. We told you on Wednesday how an agreement on Brexit, a plan for how Britain would leave the European Union failed. The deal was made between the EU and the Administration of British Prime Minister Teresa May but it needed to be approved by Britain's parliament first.

And British lawmakers voted against it. After that happened, the leader of Britain's Labor Party which opposes the conservative party that's in power called for a no confidence vote in Prime Minister May's government. That could have led to major changes in Britain's leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In U.S. politics, when the president dies, resigns or is impeached, finding a replacement is straightforward. The vice-president steps up, and after that the Speaker of the House. But in British politics, the rules are a lot more complicated. A prime minister can resign. But in the UK, if parliament or their own MPs aren't happy with their leadership, they can also be forced out. During World War II, even Winston Churchill survived two so-called votes of no confidence from parliament over his management of the war. And almost 50 years later, Margaret Thatcher was ousted from office by disgruntled MPs in her own party and she chose to resign.

In the UK, a PM's own political party chooses a successor. And each has a different way of doing that. Conservative MPs elect two candidates from a choice of MPs who put themselves forwards. Then, the public membership of the party votes for the winner. However, most Brits aren't registered members of the political party. Unlike the conservatives, in the Labor Party, once candidates are endorsed by Labor parliamentarians, registered members from the general public have as much say as politicians. Members vote, and if one candidate wins 50 percent of the ballots, then they win the election. If no one does, then the least popular candidate is eliminated and voters' second preferences are considered until one candidate holds 50 percent of the votes. This allows unexpected choices for party leader — like Jeremy Corbyn, a far left candidate. He was elected to head labor in 2015 after a groundswell of popular support.

Parliamentary rules means that if this new leader can form a new government within two weeks, he or she can hold on to the PM seat. This is how Teresa May came to power after David Cameron resigned in 2016. But before they officially become PM, the Royal family does have a say. This is the United Kingdom, after all. The prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch. So before the PM can move into number 10 Downing Street, the official residence, they pop by Buckingham Palace to request the Queen's blessing to form an official government. And with that, the UK has a new PM.

CARL AZUZ: But the vote held in the British government on Wednesday confirmed that May still has the confidence of lawmakers. In December, she won a confidence vote within her own conservative party. This week, the bigger House of Commons — which includes hundreds more lawmakers from several more parties — voted in favor of Prime Minister May's government staying in power. The count was 325 to 306. The nation's leaders still has the immense challenge of figuring out Brexit, but she also gets to keep her job as the person to do it and to lead Britain.