In the era of Theresa May, UKIP's voter appeal is being overshadowed by a far more compelling offer | Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images | Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images Theresa May will trigger Brexit on March 9 UK government wants to invoke the clause at European summit.

The U.K. government intends to pass legislation allowing it to trigger Article 50 by March 9, the Times reported Tuesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May had said she would formally invoke the two-year mechanism for Britain's exit from the European Union by the end of March but had declined to reveal an exact date.

May's government told the House of Lords on Monday it wants its Brexit bill — unveiled last week — approved by March 7, according to the Times. The timing will give May the option of invoking the clause at a March 9 European Council.

Brexit Secretary David Davis will open debate on the bill in the House of Commons Tuesday. The bill, he is expected to say, is not "about whether or not the U.K. should leave the EU, or how it should do so. It is simply about implementing a decision already made."

MPs will vote on the bill Wednesday, after which it will proceed to committee stage, where it can be amended by opposition parties.

The government is hoping to avoid invoking Article 50 in the last week of March, as doing so would coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the founding charter of what later became the EU.