May escapes the Brexit rebels
Late deal heads off Remain revolt but leaves SNP incensed
THERESA May saw off a threatened rebellion and avoided a major defeat on her key Brexit legislation last night.
A series of last-minute concessions offered to rebel MPs prevented a humiliating defeat which would have piled pressure on her leadership and sidelined her in negotiations with the European Union.
The Prime Minister met a group of more than a dozen diehard Tory Remain Tory MPs in her private room in the Commons, moments before the crucial vote, to hear their demands on the final deal.
The intervention was enough to stave off an immediate Government defeat over demands for a so-called ‘meaningful vote’ which would make it impossible for Britain to leave the EU without a deal and put MPs in charge of the final stage of negotiations.
Solicitor General Robert Buckland then announced ministers would hold ‘structured discussions’ with the rebels in the coming days in a bid to find a compromise ahead of fresh votes on Monday.
But the Prime Minister is still facing a legal showdown with the Scottish Government after MPs ignored the Scottish parliament’s decision to refuse consent and pressed ahead with the EU Withdrawal Bill.
Nationalist ministers branded it a ‘dark day for devolution’ and claimed the UK Government had ‘torn up the constitutional rulebook’.
But the Conservatives accused Nicola Sturgeon of playing ‘short-term political games’ in a desperate bid to boost her case for breaking up Britain.
The two governments are now heading for a Supreme Court battle on the issue.
The rebellion was given fresh momentum by the dramatic resignation of Justice Minister Phillip Lee, who said he could no longer support the Government over Brexit.
Dr Lee, a personal friend of Mrs May, likened Brexit to the death penalty and said MPs had a ‘responsibility’ to block it, however popular it might be with the public.
In a statement last night, the Department for Exiting the EU denied giving way on the rebels’ central demands, saying: ‘We have not, and will not, agree to the Commons binding the Government’s hands in the negotiations.’
But rebel MPs claimed Mrs May was forced to promise Parliament a greater say over future negotiations with Brussels. And they threatened to rebel next week unless she bows to their demands for Parliament to be put in charge of the final stage of negotiations if ministers cannot get a Brexit deal acceptable to MPs.
The Lords had demanded a ‘meaningful vote’ which would allow Parliament to take charge of negotiations if ministers fail to get a good deal with Brussels by the autumn. Ministers fear the move would plunge the talks into chaos and allow Remainers to force through a deal that leaves Britain in the EU in all but name.
Diehard Tory Remainers, led by a group of sacked former ministers, warned that they would back the amendment unless ministers agreed to a ‘compromise’ which would delay Parliament taking control until next February.
The stand-off led to extraordinary scenes in the Commons as, with the clock ticking, Government chief whip Julian King scurried between rebel MPs and ministers in a bid to bro-
‘A dark day for devolution’
ker a last-minute compromise that would avert defeat.
Mrs May herself then issued a personal plea to rebel MPs to hold off during a series of meetings in her Commons office.
The intervention was successful, with MPs voting to reject the Lords amendment by 324 votes to 298. Former ministers Kenneth Clarke and Anna Soubry were the only Tory rebels. Dr Lee abstained.
After a 19-minute debate on amendments to Clause 15, which details the arrangements with devolved nations, MPs voted 321 to 40 in favour of passing the changed clause.
This led to an outcry from the SNP benches, with the party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford claiming ‘Scotland’s voice has been shut out’. Scotland’s Brexit Minister Michael Russell said: ‘Today, the UK Government tore up the constitutional rulebook and imposed its will in the face of an overwhelming vote in the Scottish parliament. This is a dark day for devolution.’
But Scottish Secretary David Mundell welcomed the passing of the clause, insisting it provides ‘clarity for business and families in Scotland as we leave the EU’. He said: ‘We have made strenuous efforts to reach agreement with the Scottish and Welsh governments. We are disappointed the Scottish Government did not support it, as the Welsh Government has done.’
IN a day of grandstanding and frantic backstage dealings, the Government defeated a series of Lords’ Brexit amendments aimed at keeping us tied to Brussels indefinitely.
Yet such was the confusion, both Remain and Leave supporters were claiming success and the issue had been batted back to the Lords for more wrangling.
Remainers produced amendments which would strip the negotiating team of the right to walk away with no deal – a key negotiating tool by the pro-Brexit camp.
Europhiles are also insistent that if the Government comes back with a deal they don’t like, the Commons should have the power to take control of the negotiations.
Theresa May saw off this challenge yesterday but if she can’t come back with a compromise by early next week, she faces potential defeat when the Withdrawal Bill comes back to the Commons.
Still, defeat yesterday was unthinkable as it would have raised the spectre of Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn bidding for 10 Downing Street. His cause was, arguably, aided by Tory Philip Lee – an obscure junior minister unheard of until he resigned yesterday.
Although a majority of Mr Lee’s Bracknell constituents voted Leave, he said their decision was ‘against the good of society’.
Patronisingly, he even likened Brexit to the death penalty and revealed a somewhat tenuous grasp of how democracy works when he said: ‘It means that sometimes when a majority of our people want something that is against the good of society, government and parliament has a responsibility to protect us.’
We don’t yet know what concessions Mrs May will have to make to keep Brexit on track, but Britain’s hand in trying to get the best deal from Brussels has been weakened. And no matter what happened, the SNP were always going to complain.
Their claims of a Westminster power grab while shroud-waving over ‘the death of devolution’ are likely to wind up in court.
As Scottish Secretary David Mundell pointed out: ‘We know that Nicola Sturgeon just wants to pick a fight and concoct another reason for another independence referendum. With the SNP, everything is always about independence.’