Queen’s Speech is a costly victory for May
Abortion concession helps it squeak home by 14 votes
THERESA MAY last night avoided a potentially devastating blow to her leadership after her Queen’s Speech narrowly made it through the House of Commons.
Yesterday’s vote marked a crucial milestone for the embattled Prime Minister, who just three weeks ago was waking up to the fact that a snap election gamble had lost her a majority.
But the victory came at a price, with the Government forced to make a last-minute concession on access to abortions in order to avoid defeat at the hands of Labour.
It also laid bare the extent to which Mrs May’s grip on Parliament has been reduced, after the legislation was passed by just 14 votes.
The last few weeks have seen fierce speculation about the possibility of a defeat on the speech, as talks to secure a confidence and supply deal with the DUP dragged on.
Opposition MPs moved to take advantage of Mrs May’s depleted numbers, with the Labour front benches tabling an amendment setting out an “alternative” Queen’s Speech.
However, it was a motion tabled by the Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy – calling on the Government to improve access to abortions for Northern Irish women – that proved the biggest threat to Mrs May’s authority, with ministers offering a lastminute concession to provide additional funding for their treatment.
Responding to the news, Ms Creasy said it sent “a message to women everywhere that... their voices will be heard and their rights upheld”.
The vote also threw up fresh challenges for the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, after 49 MPs defied the party whip and backed an amendment calling for the UK to remain a member of the European single market.
The motion, tabled by the Streatham MP Chuka Umunna, contradicts Labour’s official Brexit policy, and is an indication of ongoing tensions within the party.
In a marked change from his response to the Article 50 vote, Mr Corbyn was last night reported to have sacked a number of rebels from the front benches.
This included the shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter and shadow foreign minister Catherine West, while shadow transport minister Daniel Zeichner is understood to have resigned.
Tory MP James Cleverly pointed to the rebellion as proof of a party “in total chaos”. “There is deep division at the heart of the Labour Party on the most crucial issue facing the country today – they still can’t agree on the fundamentals and would get the worst Brexit deal at the highest price,” he said. But speaking after the vote, Mr Corbyn argued it was the Conservatives who were “all over the place on Brexit”. “The Conservatives survived by the skin of their teeth today, supported by the DUP, but this is a government in chaos,” he said.
The speech was passed by a total of 323 votes to 309.
THERESA MAY will have allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction last night.
Three weeks after her General Election gamble spectacularly backfired, she remains Prime Minister and her government has overcome its first major hurdle.
The House voted by 323 to 309 to approve the Queen’s Speech, with the Democratic Unionists supporting the Government in line with their deal struck with the Conservatives earlier this week.
However, it only passed after ministers rushed out an announcement of funding for women in Northern Ireland to have abortions in England on the NHS in order to head off a Tory revolt which threatened to derail the whole process.
While the Conservative ship has been dragged off the rocks, it remains badly holed and vulnerable to the stormy seas which lie ahead.
Events ahead of last night’s vote gave a glimpse of what minority government will be like for the Democratic Unionist-backed Conservative administration.
The decision of the Commons speaker to choose a proposed amendment on abortion rights was enough to send ministers scurrying to find a solution on a matter where the Government was likely to face defeat and which would prove uncomfortable for its DUP backers.
Allowing for the fact Sinn Fein MPs do not take their seats and those MPs serving as speaker and deputy speakers, Mrs May enjoys a majority of only 13 over the opposition parties.
That also assumes Conservative MPs will dutifully file through the division lobbies in support of the Government.
It is almost forgotten now that following March’s Budget, when Mrs May had a bigger majority to work with, a backlash from her own MPs was enough to lead to a U-turn on proposed changes to National Insurance contributions.
Now the backbenches are filled with MPs angered by the election calamity, many of them further upset by the deal struck with the DUP.
Nicky Morgan’s suggestion yesterday that Mrs May should step down next year was symptomatic of the approach she can expect from those MPs who were elected under David Cameron and now fear they are in a party that has looked and sounded very different under his successor.
Those sentiments will not only cause the Government problems in terms of Commons votes, but will also drive further ongoing speculation about Mrs May’s own future.
The summer recess will provide the Government breathing space and give MPs the chance to rediscover a sense of perspective from beyond the Westminster Village.
But it will also be a chance for Conservative MPs to hear the views of their local associations and allow those who might consider a run at the party leadership the opportunity to take the temperature of colleagues away from prying eyes.
Leadership questions aside, Mrs May and the Government face an uncomfortable return to business in the autumn.
The first crunch point in the Brexit talks will be reached as EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier reports to European leaders on whether he thinks enough progress has been made on the terms of the ‘divorce’ with the UK to allow for discussions to begin over future relations.
Any sign of a hitch will be seized upon by the hard Brexitsupporting wing of her party as making the case for a swift and uncompromising withdrawal, while those on the soft Brexit side will call on Mrs May to take a more constructive approach to negotiations.
Attention will also focus on Chancellor Philip Hammond as he faces the task of putting together his first autumn Budget after he decided last year to switch the annual event to the second half of the year.
Having promised an extra £1bn to Northern Ireland in return for DUP support, Mr Hammond can expect a queue of Conservative MPs, many now on narrow majorities, asking where the cash is for their constituencies.
One hurdle has been overcome – many more lie ahead for this government.
13 Theresa May’s effective majority assuming Sinn Fein MPs do not take their seats.