Rebels back bid to block no-deal
MPS LAST night fired a warning shot across the Government’s bows as they backed an amendment intended to limit Ministers’ tax-raising powers in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The Commons voted by 303 to 296 – a majority of seven – in favour of the cross-party amendment to the Finance Bill tabled by senior Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Conservative former Cabinet Minister Nicky Morgan.
Twenty Tory rebels MPs defied the whips to back the change – including former Ministers Kenneth Clarke, Sir Michael Fallon, Justine Greening, Dominic Grieve and Sam Gyimah.
It came after Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd had earlier told fellow Ministers that history will take “a dim view” of Theresa May’s Cabinet if it presses ahead with a no-deal Brexit if the Prime Minister’s EU Withdrawal Agreement is voted down by MPs next week.
There were 20 Conservative MPs who rebelled to support Ms Cooper’s amendment, according to the division list.
But Ministers sought to play down the significance of the amendment, insisting it made only the “most minor and technical changes” to the legislation.
Downing Street described it as an “inconvenience” which would not prevent the Government collecting taxes.
But as the Commons prepared to resume the debate on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, leading to a crunch vote next week, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was an “important step” towards preventing a no-deal break with Brussels.
“It shows that there is no majority in Parliament, the Cabinet or the country for crashing out of the EU without an agreement,” he said.
“That is why we are taking every opportunity possible in Parliament to prevent no-deal. Theresa May must now rule out no-deal once and for all.”
Three Brexiteer Labour MPs also rebelled to vote against Ms Cooper’s amendment, however.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove ealier told Cabinet that those considering rejecting Mrs May’s agreement in the hope of securing a better deal were like swingers in their mid-50s waiting for film star Scarlett Johansson to turn up on a date.
Ms Rudd added “or Pierce Brosnan”, only for Justice Secretary David Gauke to quip that it was like “waiting for Scarlett Johansson on a unicorn”.
The Work and Pensions Secretary, who backed Remain in the 2016 referendum, told fellow Ministers: “History will take a dim view of a Cabinet that presses ahead with no deal. We have to face the world as we find it, not as we wish it to be, and we have to deal with the facts as we find them.”
As a former Home Secretary, Ms Rudd warned that the UK would be “less safe as a country” under a no-deal Brexit.
And she said: “More than ever we need to find the centre, reach across the House and find a majority for what will be agreed. Anything will need legislation.
“I want us to proceed with Brexit, I want to find the will of the House.”