BREXIT IN CRISIS

MPs lose bid to take charge of quitting EU Brexit date is put on hold until June 30 But seven ministers rebel over exit delay

‘Difficult choices Parliament has left us’

THERESA May wrested back control of the Brexit process from Parliament last night, despite a huge Tory split over plans to delay Britain’s departure by three months.

After a week of setbacks, the Prime Minister won a series of tense Commons votes that could decide the fate of Brexit.

Mrs May saw off a bid by Remainer MPs to seize control of the process by just two votes. Supporters of a second referendum were also routed, with the idea crushed by 334 votes to 85.

And MPs backed the Prime Minister’s reluctant call to delay Brexit to avoid a No Deal departure on March 29. The vote, which means Brexit will be delayed until at least June 30, was won by 413 votes to 202.

But it sparked a massive Tory split and only passed with the help of Labour votes.

Seven Cabinet ministers voted against the delay, including Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay. In total, 188 Conservatives voted against any delay, with only 112, including the Prime Minister, voting for it.

Mrs May had granted her MPs a free vote so it did not technically represent a rebellion against her authority. But the scale of the opposition to delay is embarrassing for the Prime Minister at a time when she is trying to unite the party ahead of a third attempt next week at passing her Brexit deal.

Cabinet rebels included Andrea Leadsom, Liz Truss, Gavin Williamson, Liam Fox, Penny Mordaunt and Chris Grayling.

Mr Barclay’s decision to vote against was particularly awkward as it came just moments after he closed the Commons debate on the issue urging MPs to ‘act in the national interest’ and vote for the ‘realistic’ option of delay.

A senior Tory source last night said Mrs May took ‘no pleasure’ in winning a vote on delaying Brexit and had done ‘everything possible’ to ensure the UK left on time with a deal. Her official spokesman said: ‘The PM strived for the UK to leave on March 29. She did not want there to be an extension.

‘She brought forward the meaningful vote on her deal twice, but Parliament chose to reject it. We now have to confront the difficult choices parliament has left us.’

Privately, senior Tories believe the cabinet split was driven in part by the desire of potential leadership candidates to parade their Eurosceptic credentials.

A Government source last night insisted the Cabinet was ‘united’ around Mrs May’s strategy for leaving the EU with a deal. The votes came as:

Ministers stepped up talks with the DUP and Tory Eurosceptics, hoping to bring back Mrs May’s deal for a third time next Tuesday;

Labour suffered a series of damaging splits, with a string of MPs defying Jeremy Corbyn’s orders and helping keep Mrs May’s plans on track;

Tory whips asked Justice Secretary David Gauke to resign on Wednesday night after he rejected the motion to rule out No Deal, but he refused to stand down;

European Council chief Donald Tusk appealed to EU leaders to agree a ‘long extension’ of Article 50 to give the UK time to ‘rethink its strategy’;

Ministers agreed to offer MPs a series of votes on soft Brexit options if Mrs May’s deal is defeated again next week;

A Labour bid to prevent Mrs May bringing back the deal to parliament again was abandoned after it became clear it would be defeated.

Mrs May’s former policy chief George Freeman warned her resignation may be the price of securing Eurosceptic support for her deal;

Eurosceptic MP Christopher Chope warned that hardliners were willing to vote with Labour to bring down the Government to try to force through a No Deal Brexit.

Last night’s votes mean that Brexit is now almost certain to be delayed beyond March 29.

Only a refusal by the leaders of the 27 remaining EU states to grant the UK an extension at a Brussels summit next week could now preserve the totemic date of March 29 as Brexit Day.

The agreement passed by MPs gives Parliament until next Wednesday to pass Mrs May’s deal.

If, against the odds, this happens, then she would seek a ‘short, technical’ delay to allow the necessary legislation to pass. In this scenario, Britain would leave the EU on June 30. But if the deal is not passed, she will request a much lengthier delay – possibly as long as two years – when she attends next week’s Brussels summit, in order to leave time for a new strategy.

Her deputy David Lidington told MPs that if the deal was defeated, the Government would ‘work to provide a process by which the House could form a majority on how to take things forward.’

This two-week process, which would start at the end of this month, could include a series of ‘indicative votes’ on soft Brexit options, such as a customs union or a Norway-style arrangement in the hope of establishing a crossparty consensus.

Mr Lidington’s offer helped see off a cross-party bid led by Labour’s Hilary Benn to seize control of the

Brexit process and force Mrs May to negotiate a much softer Brexit.

Mr Benn’s plan was defeated by 314 votes to 312. Mrs May suffered a rebellion by 15 Tory MPs, including former ministers Dominic Grieve, Kenneth Clarke, Nick Boles and Oliver Letwin. But she was saved after six Labour MPs defied Mr Corbyn to vote with the Government.

Mr Corbyn also suffered a rebellion on the vote on a second referendum. Although Labour has said it backs a second referendum, its MPs were ordered to abstain yesterday, prompting Independent Group MP Anna Soubry to shout ‘shame on you’ as the decision was announced.

Despite the order, 24 Labour MPs voted for a second referendum, with another 17 voting against it.