No deal.. No hope.. No clue.. No confidence
Most humiliating Commons defeat in history as MPs kill off May’s deal Corbyn launches bid for No10 as he calls vote to spark an election
JEREMY Corbyn last night launched a bid to topple Theresa May after she suffered one of the worst Commons defeats ever.
The humiliated PM lost her EU vote by 432 to 202, leaving Britain facing a no-deal – or no Brexit.
Mr Corbyn launched a no confidence vote in the government, declaring her plan “roundly rejected”.
In the last two years Mrs May has had only one priority – the Conservative Party JEREMY CORBYN RALLIES THE HOUSE TO VOTE DOWN TORY GOVERNMENT
THERESA May last night trudged out of her Brexit defeat with Jeremy Corbyn’s damning words ringing in her ears.
The humiliated PM lost the vote on her EU plan by a staggering 230 majority that leaves Britain staring at a catastrophic no deal – or no Brexit.
After the crushing defeat, which followed two-and-a-half years of botched negotiations with Brussels, Mr Corbyn launched a motion of no confidence in her government. It will be voted on at 7pm today.
But the stubborn PM refused to quit, despite the blow to her Brexit plans that left her stripped of all authority as MPs finally buried her deal.
Instead, she plans to resurrect it and try yet again to win over MPs before another vote on Monday.
Mr Corbyn branded Mrs May’s defeat “catastrophic” and said it represented an “absolutely decisive” verdict on her handling of Brexit. He added: “She is only attempting to reach out now to try to keep her failed process and deal alive after it’s been so roundly rejected by Parliament on behalf of the people of this country.
“At every turn the Prime Minister has closed the door on dialogue. In the last two years she’s only had one priority… the Conservative Party. Her governing principle of delay and denial has reached the end of the line.”
Mr Corbyn’s no-confidence motion could force an early general election if it wins the support of more than 50% of MPs. But his hopes of winning were undermined when the DUP’s Sammy Wilson said the party’s 10 MPs will back Mrs May in her fight for survival.
MPs voted 432 to 202 against her Brexit plans, which critics had warned would leave us tied to the EU without any say on it.
The huge Tory rebellion of 118 Tory MPs included fervent Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg as well as leading Remainers Anna Soubry and Dominic Grieve.
Her two former Brexit secretaries David Davis and Dominic Raab also voted against the deal.
The 230-vote margin of defeat was the worst suffered by any government and in normal circumstances would be enough to force a PM from office.
But Mrs May made clear she plans to cling on, holding talks with MPs to find “genuinely negotiable” solutions she can take back to Brussels.
She pledged to open cross-party talks with senior Labour MPs over the next few days to help save Brexit – but the invitation did not initially appear to extend to Mr Corbyn.
And the PM seemed to rule out any dramatic changes to her deal with aides insisting it would form the basis of her Plan B.
But she was last night looking increasingly boxed in with her Cabinet, her party and Parliament all urging her to change tack.
Mrs May said: “The House has spoken and this government will listen. It is clear this House does not support this deal, but tonight’s vote tells us nothing about what it does support.”
As noisy crowds gathered outside
Westminster, she promised to approach talks Tory backbenchers, the DUP and Labour MPs “in a constructive spirit” but Downing Street immediately set out her red lines for talks.
No10 sources appeared to rule out discussing a customs union, a key Labour demand thought likely to command a majority, saying the PM wanted an independent trade deal.
They also played down expectations of her compromising over a second referendum or extending Article 50.
Mrs May insisted she was not running down the clock to no-deal. She added: “Every day that passes without this issue being resolved means more uncertainty, more bitterness and more rancour.”
But Labour MP Yvette Cooper said: “This was the biggest government defeat in over 100 years.
“The PM says she now will listen and work cross-party but she had 30 months to do that and she repeatedly refused.
“She cannot just carry on as if nothing has changed.”
Hilary Benn, Labour chair of the Brexit committee, added: “The PM says she is now going to reach out across the House of Commons, she could have done that two-and-a-half years ago”.
But Attorney General Geoffrey Cox confirmed minimal changes were expected. He said: “This agreement will have to return, in much the same form, with much the same content.”
Remainer Tory minister Amber Rudd, backed by several Cabinet colleagues, led calls for the PM to reach out to Labour MPs to try to reach a compromise.
Senior Labour figures indicated to the Mirror they could be open to negotiation.
It emerged PM’s chief Brexit adviser, Olly Robbins, has been working on secret contingency plans for cross-party talks. Mrs May was urged her to return to Brussels to demand more concessions
EU chiefs warned the PM to “urgently” set out her plans as the clock was ticking down to Brexit. Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker said: “I note with regret the outcome of the vote in the Commons this evening.
“I urge the UK to clarify its intentions as soon as possible. Time is almost up.”
EU Council president Donald Tusk added: “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?”
I urge the UK to clarify its intentions as soon as possible. Time is almost up JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER RESPONDS TO BREXIT DEAL DEFEAT YESTERDAY
THE Tory party was embroiled in a bitter civil war last night after Cabinet ministers and MPs split over how to break the Brexit deadlock.
Despite her catastrophic result, Theresa May told the Cabinet she intended to push on with her deal regardless, sources said.
But some of her top team reacted with dismay to her claim her Plan A was still “the only option” on the table.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd led a push, backed by Business Secretary Greg Clark and Justice Secretary David Gauke, to open talks with moderate Labour MPs.
They want Parliament to be given a series of votes on all the options – including the Norway model – to see which could command a majority.
One Cabinet source said: “They were supportive of a means of shifting responsibility on to Parliamentarians to find a way forward.”
WARNING
But Tory Chairman Brandon Lewis warned that working with Labour would never be accepted by members and could divide the Conservative Party.
He told the Cabinet: “The party wouldn’t wear it.”
Brexiteer ministers said the Prime Minister should press for further concessions from the EU instead, focusing on the backstop. “It must be her Plan B if she wants to get her deal through,” one said.
Mrs May signalled she would now talk with “senior parliamentarians” with a view to shaping a workable plan which could win support from MPs.
Amazingly however, the Prime Minister looked intent on sticking with her original plan, telling MPs it was the only one on the table.
Downing Street is hoping that after the turmoil of the first vote MPs will now row in behind her deal. One senior No 10 source said: “We know there are Tory MPs who feel they need to vote against it this time, to keep their associations happy, but would back us next time round.” Several remain-backing ministers have called for the Government to take no deal off the table, warning that if it did not it would fall to MPs.
According to sources, Ms Rudd told MPs: “Rather than being led, we should do the leading.”
She was backed by de facto deputy PM David Lidington but Cabinet heavyweights including Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid opposed her plan.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Mrs May was still the best person to lead the UK. He said, provided she wins the vote of no confidence, she would engage with MPs from all sides to find a deal which can achieve a majority.
But Grassroots Conservatives chairman Ed Costelloe – who wants the PM out of No 10 – told
Mirror the split looming over the party was “extraordinary”.
He warned activists’ enthusiasm for campaigning for
Tory candidates who had backed the PM’s deal, or Remain, would be dampened.
“I don’t think there would be much enthusiasm for Theresa May if she was leading us into an election, having cocked up the last one totally and utterly,” he said.
Deep divisions on the Tory backbenches were clearer than ever.
Former chancellor Ken Clarke accused arch-Brexiteers of “paranoia” over claims the Irish backthe
stop was some sort of plot to prevent Brexit.
Brexiteer Owen Paterson said the deal was a “betrayal” of what people voted for.
Mrs May is already facing pressure to step down over the scale of the defeat.
Veteran eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash said: “I believe there are lessons in this for the Prime Minister to consider her position
and to do so with dignity and without rancour.”
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: “This deal is dead. It’s perhaps a bigger defeat than people had been expecting but it’s been a long time brewing.”
But most Tory backbenchers expected her to stay put. “She will hang on regardless,” one said.
There are lessons in this for the PM to consider her position BILL CASH VETERAN EUROSCEPTIC