Glimmer of light in PM’s Brexit gloom

AT last, a few crumbs of comfort for Theresa May after so many weeks of merciless Brexit torment.

In what has become a deeply hostile House of Commons, she finally won a vote – and saw off an attempted parliamentary coup by a clique of MPs bent on reversing the referendum result.

To describe her win as a great triumph would be a wild exaggeration. But following the recent setbacks and humiliations, it must have felt like blessed relief.

It was a very tight squeeze. The amendment, proposed by Labour’s Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper and others was intended to seize the Brexit agenda from the Government and hand it to Parliament. It fell by just two votes, putting Mrs May back in the driving seat.

We realise the public must be bored rigid by these tedious procedural party games and can only apologise to readers for droning on about them. But this one is hugely important.

As well as consigning any genuine hope of Brexit to the dustbin, the Benn amendment would have been a recipe for absolute chaos, as squabbling MPs tried vainly to coalesce around an alternative plan.

It would also have killed the May deal – still the best hope of an honourable and orderly EU departure. That deal may be gasping for breath, but it still has a pulse.

That is probably more than can be said for the much-vaunted second referendum idea, which was comprehensively trashed by the House – losing by a thumping 249 votes. Whither the Independent Group now, one wonders. So where do we go from here? The Prime Minister – hopefully with her voice and stamina refreshed – will bring her agreement back to the Commons for a third time on Tuesday.

If it succeeds, she will seek a short extension to Article 50 to allow time for implementation. If she fails, that extension will be indefinite, leaving us in a half-in, half-out limbo.

We can only pray that the Democratic Unionists and hard-Brexiteers will wake up to reality and back it. If they don’t Brexit is almost certainly doomed – and their worst fears realised.

Meanwhile, Tory Remainers who voted against their leader in Wednesday’s No Deal debacle appear to have come back into the fold. We must have no more disloyalty from them. It’s their democratic duty to focus on the common good.

And Labour MPs from Leave-voting areas too should also accept the deal. It is the only sure way of fulfilling the mandate their constituents gave them.

The clock is fast running down. This is the last train out of Brussels. If they miss it, there won’t be another.