LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers voted on Tuesday in favor of a proposal which calls on the government to replace the so-called Northern Irish backstop with alternative arrangements to secure the support of parliament for Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

The amendment, put forward by influential Conservative lawmaker Graham Brady, won 317 votes to 301, and strengthens May’s hands when she returns to Brussels to try to renegotiate the Brexit deal - something the EU has so far ruled out.