May fighting for her political life after seismic defeat in vote
May’s deal crushed in biggest loss in history
THERESA May was last night battling for her political life following a crushing Commons defeat on her Brexit deal which puts leaving the EU under threat.
British MPs voted by a majority of 230 to reject the Withdrawal Agreement she has struck with the EU. It was the biggest government defeat in British history.
The prime minister called on mutinous Tory MPs to back her in a confidence vote tonight. Another defeat could trigger an election and put Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street.
Mrs May insisted she would talk to senior MPs from all parties to bring forward a revised plan by Monday. But Downing Street indicated she would not open formal talks with Mr Corbyn because of his ‘cynical’ approach to Brexit.
Last night’s defeat eclipses the previous record 166-vote loss inflicted on Ramsay McDonald’s minority Labour administration in 1924.
More than a third of Conservative MPs – 118 in all – rebelled. However, there was no internal push to remove Mrs May from office, with even Boris Johnson saying she should stay. Cabinet Remainers will now pressure her to drop her opposition to a permanent customs union in order to win support from Labour MPs.
Brexit-backing ministers instead want her to go back to Brussels and demand the removal of the Irish backstop, which could lead to a hard border. On a tumultuous day:
Commons Speaker John Bercow indicated he would allow backbench MPs to seize control of the Brexit process to prevent a no-deal exit;
Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark held an emergency conference call with business leaders, amid fears that financial markets could take fright at the scale of last night’s defeat;
Mr Corbyn said the ‘catastrophic defeat’ must trigger a general election;
EU president Donald Tusk suggested that Brexit could now be reversed;
Hardline Eurosceptics and the DUP indicated they would back Mrs May in today’s confidence vote despite voting against her last night;
Mrs May prepared to fly to Brussels as early as tomorrow in a bid to wring fresh concessions out of the EU;
German foreign minister Heiko Maas warned the EU was not ready to make ‘substantial’ changes;
A string of MPs called for Brexit to be delayed;
Mrs May told MPs she was determined to find a solution based on her rejected plan. However, she said the vote gave no clue about ‘how – or even if’ parliament would honour the 2016 referendum. She added: ‘Every day that passes without this issue being resolved means more uncertainty, more bitterness and more rancour. I ask MPs on all sides to listen to the British people, who want this issue settled, and to work with the government to do just that.’
A Cabinet source last night said the prospects of Brexit being blocked had ‘massively increased’.
Another senior minister predicted Mrs May would now have to shift to a softer Brexit, saying: ‘A compromise is going to happen. We are past the high water mark of Brexit.’
A third predicted the deal could be revived if the EU agreed to drop or severely limit the backstop, which is such a problem for Tory Brexiteers and Mrs May’s governing
‘The party won’t wear it’
partners in the DUP. The minister said: ‘The deal is dead, but if you said, would this deal minus the backstop be dead, I would say very much no.’ Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there would ‘clearly have to be changes’ to the withdrawal agreement.
But EU chief Mr Tusk tweeted: ‘If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?’
EU Commission president JeanClaude Juncker warned: ‘The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote.’
No.10 confirmed that Mrs May would open talks with senior MPs – including Labour representatives. But a spokesman insisted she was not ready to accept Labour’s plan for a permanent customs union, saying the UK must have an ‘independent trade policy’ after Brexit.
Setting out Mrs May’s ‘guidelines’ for the discussions, the spokesman said: ‘We want a smooth orderly Brexit with a deal that gives us control over our borders, laws and money and gives us an independent trade policy.’
But any proposal to talk to opposition MPs will be fraught with danger, and will fuel suspicions that the PM is preparing to switch. Tory chairman Brandon Lewis spoke out against the idea of talking to Labour at Cabinet yesterday, saying: ‘The party won’t wear it.’
Another attendee said any discussion with Labour’s front bench would be pointless, adding: ‘Labour will never agree to any sort of deal. It’s not in their political interests and Jeremy Corbyn is political to his fingertips.’
Meanwhile, the Irish Government said it is to intensify preparations for a ‘disorderly Brexit’ following last night’s defeat in the House of Commons. It said it is not too late to save Britain from this disorder.
A statement released by the Taoiseach’s office said the defeat will add to uncertainty about the nature of the UK withdrawal from the EU. ‘The Government urges the UK to set out how it proposes to move forward. We will then consider what next steps to take in consultation with our EU partners,’ it said in a statement.
It said the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement was concluded ‘following lengthy and detailed negotiations, as a fair and balanced compromise to a very complicated situation’.
‘The Irish Government continues to believe that ratification of this agreement is the best way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK, which avoids a hard border and respects the single market and Customs Union, while also delivering on the UK’s objectives for withdrawal.’