BREXIT DEAL FAILS
MAY LOSES VOTE FOR SECOND TIME .. NOW IT’s NO DEAL OR DELAY
THERESA May’s ever-dwindling authority finally collapsed last night as she surrendered control of Brexit to MPs after losing another vote.
The PM’s premiership hung in the balance when her deal to quit the EU suffered a catastrophic second Commons defeat, by a majority of 149.
She immediately offered a free vote to Tory MPs on leaving with no deal, which means Brexit, due in 16 days, could be delayed beyond March 29.
Ministers will this morning publish bombshell documents on the impact of crashing out on import taxes and the Irish border backstop.
With Britain thrust into deeper uncertainty and crisis, the warnings could lead to a fall in the pound.
Labour claimed the PM’s offer of a free vote on a no deal Brexit was a sign the Government had lost control.
Shadow Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner said after last night’s defeat: “This shows Theresa May has given up any pretence of leading the country.”
As Champion Hurdle jockeys battled it out at the Cheltenham Festival, it had become clearer as yesterday wore on that the PM would never clear the final Brexit fence.
And after the vote last night, she came under pressure from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and her own backbenchers to call a general election.
Tory grandee Charles Walker, who is close to the PM, said an election should follow “as night follows day”.
He added: “She has to get a new mandate for the sake of the country. Needs must when the devil drives. We cannot go on trying to govern like this.”
But a No10 spokesman ruled it out. He said: “We are not preparing for and do not want a general election.”
May’s second vote on her Brexit deal came after she made a last-minute dash to Strasbourg for crisis talks to get more concessions.
The PM insisted she had secured “legal assurances” on changes to ensure the UK would not be permanently trapped in the Irish border backstop.
Cabinet gave its backing to the agreement, with May saying ominously: “Today is the day.”
But the move still failed to convince Brexiteers. And Attorney General Geoffrey Cox drove the final nail into the coffin, concluding that while the changes reduced the risk, they did not rule it out entirely.
Last night, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The Prime Minister and the UK Government should be hanging their heads in shame. “Tonight’s outcome was entirely predictable and if they had been prepared to listen at any stage and engage constructively instead of simply pandering to Brexit extremists, they could have avoided it.
“Instead, we now have a Government that has effectively ceased to function
We now have a Government that has effectively ceased to function and a country still on a cliff edge
NICOLA STURGEON
and a country that remains poised on a cliff edge.
“Ruling out no deal and extending Article 50 would stop the clock on Brexit and enable another referendum on EU membership to be held. We will support any such referendum, provided it has the option to remain in the EU on the ballot paper.”
When the DUP, who prop up the PM’s fragile Government, said they would not support her deal, defeat was certain.
The Tory Brexiteer European Research Group of MPs also voted against, suggesting they would only back it if Brexit was at threat.
May’s deal was defeated by 391 votes to 242, less than the 230 blow inflicted back in January. Just three Labour MPs voted for May – Caroline Flint, John Mann and Sir Kevin Barron. A number of Tories switched to back her plan but 75, along with 10 DUP MPs voted against it.
Boris Johnson warned the PM’s plan had “reached the end of the road” and argued for a no-deal departure instead.
One Tory MP turned up for the poll in black tie, telling colleagues it was what they wore on the Titanic.
May is understood to have discussed the possibility of a “short extension” with Brussels chiefs.
EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has suggested delaying Brexit until the European elections at the end of May. He insisted there would be no further negotiations on the backstop.
Juncker added: “In politics, sometimes you get a second chance. It is what we do with the second chance that counts because there will be no third chance.”
Many MPs admitted they had “priced in” the defeat, believing May would bring it back to the Commons one last time.
Cabinet minister Alun Cairns said: “I don’t think this is the end of the deal necessarily.”
However, No10 insiders admitted the PM now had limited control over the process. A cross-party group led by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Tory Nick Boles, were already planning to take control of the Parliamentary timetable.
The PM, her voice hoarse after late-night negotiations, warned MPs of the consequences of delaying Brexit.
She said: “Voting against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not solve the problems we face.”
She told MPs they now faced “unenviable choices” between a second referendum, an alternative deal or cancelling Brexit.
The PM added: “It would be no good blaming the EU. Responsibility would lie with this House. We failed to come together in the national interest.”
Many were furious that May had given them a vote to take a no deal Brexit off the table but insisted it remained the default option if they did not agree a deal or an extension.
The wording of her motion means that only by voting for a deal or a delay will MPs effectively take the threat of crashing out without an agreement off the table.
Philip Hammond will today make his Spring Statement on the British economy, which is showing increasing signs of stress as a result of the Brexit uncertainty.
Annual growth dropped to a six-year low of 1.4 per cent in 2018, with economists warning the slowdown would continue this year unless a Brexit deal was agreed.
The Chancellor is expected to offer billions of pounds for public services if MPs vote against a no-deal Brexit.
JEREMY Corbyn urged MPs to back Labour’s rival Brexit plan, insisting it could be popular enough to be agreed by Parliament.
His party’s policy is to arrange a “permanent and comprehensive” customs union with the EU, negotiate access to the single market, and fully align with all workers’ rights rules developed by the bloc.
After Theresa May’s deal was voted down last night, Labour leader Corbyn told the Commons: “The Government has been defeated again by an enormous majority. They must now accept their proposal, the one the Prime Minister has put, is clearly dead and does not have the support of this House.
“Quite clearly, no deal must be taken off the table. We’ve said that before and we’ll say that again.
“But it does mean the House has got to come together with a proposal that could be negotiated. The Labour Party has put that proposal – and we will put forward that proposal again because the dangers of what the Prime Minister is proposing are basically that she carries on threatening us all with the danger of no-deal, knowing full well the damage that will do to the British economy.”
After detailing Labour’s Brexit proposals, he added: “We believe there may well be a majority for them but there will also be the potential of
negotiating them.” Labour MPs who reluctantly back Brexit because their constituents voted to Leave at the 2016 referendum believe they could honour the result by pushing for a soft withdrawal. EU chiefs would welcome the UK remaining in a customs union.
But it would mean Britain being unable to strike its own trade deals with other countries – overturning a key plank of the Leave campaign three years ago. Photos of the MPs in the No Lobby last night showed smug looking Tories including Boris Johnson.
And after the Government’s huge defeat, Corbyn called time on Mrs May’s tenure in Downing Street.
He said: “The Prime Minister has run down the clock, and the clock has been run out on her. Maybe it’s time we had a general election and the people can choose who their be.” Government should
But the Labour leader angered some of his backbenchers by again failing to mention a second referendum – casting further doubt on his commitment to backing another EU vote. One backbencher poured scorn on the leadership’s plan, saying: “With the Tories in disarray and the Prime Minister on the rocks, it’s vital Labour is not seen to exhibit the same stubbornness by repeatedly pushing proposals that do not have the prospect of Parliament supporting. We must now push for any deal agreed to be put back to the public for them to have the final say as Labour voters, members and trade unionists overwhelmingly demand.”
Anti-Brexit Labour MP David Lammy said: “This is yet another humiliating defeat for the most chaotic and destructive British Government in living memory.
“It is now time for the leaders of this country to accept that the problem is not this deal or that deal – the problem is Brexit itself.
“The fantasy promised to voters in 2016 is impossible. We simply cannot leave the EU but keep the benefits membership entails.
“The only way left for the Prime Minister to save her deal, which surrenders our sovereignty and fails to protect jobs across the country, is to put it to the British people.”
They must now accept that their proposal is clearly dead JEREMY CORBYN ON GOVERNMENT’S DEAL