Rebels leave the PM in exposed position

Anyone watching proceedings in Parliament over the EU Withdrawal Bill yesterday could be forgiven for wondering what was going on. Theresa May had promised a definitive vote on the Brexit deal in both Houses of Parliament, and to implement the agreement by way of primary legislation. Despite this, she was defeated last night on an amendment tabled by Conservative MP and former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, which commits the Government to “a meaningful vote” on the final deal with the EU.

The difference between the Government’s position and the demands of the Tory rebels whose votes inflicted the defeat appears small on paper. Mrs May was concerned that unless ministers controlled the manner of Britain’s departure from the EU the process would not be “orderly and smooth”. The Government wanted to use secondary legislation to implement elements of the agreement as soon as possible after it is reached. The rebels and the Opposition felt the Government could thereby start the process of leaving before Parliament had agreed, breaching its sovereignty.

In truth, the detail mattered less than the politics. This was a high-stakes shoot-out in which Mrs May tried to face down the Remainer rebels and end the threat from that quarter to her Brexit plans. However, the gamble failed and she lost for only the first time since becoming Prime Minister. The unfortunate legacy is a well of bitterness in the party and an end to the uneasy truce between the two sides that had endured for a year or more.

Apart from Kenneth Clarke, none of the Remainers had previously voted against the Government. Last night, more than a dozen did, and more would have done so had it not been for a last-minute concession that should have been offered earlier. We recently called them the Brexit Mutineers, though they describe themselves as the Rebel Alliance. Leavers believe some of them want to reverse Brexit, which they deny. They are now out in the open, but blame Government obduracy for placing them in this position.

Confronting them was always a risky strategy for Mrs May, but she evidently hoped to cash in the credit received from all sides in the Conservative Party after getting the EU to sign up to stage two of the talks. The defeat means the Prime Minister travels to a crucial EU summit in Brussels today with her parlous Commons position fully exposed. Those who placed her in that predicament need to ask themselves how that serves the national interest.