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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2018/jun/20/brexit-theresa-may-faces-meaningful-vote-crunch-day-politics-live
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| Brexit: May faces 'meaningful vote' crunch day - Politics live | Brexit: May faces 'meaningful vote' crunch day - Politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Robert Buckland, the solicitor general, sounded confident that the government would win today. Talking to Sky’s All Out Politics Buckland he said: | |
| I think our arguments are strong. I think we can persuade the Commons today. I must say the Lords have accepted all the arguments we’ve made. They have properly given back a matter that is for the Commons to decide. I very much hope that we can have finality on this issue today and then get on with the work that we need to do. | |
| I’m optimistic about many things and I’m optimistic that today that our arguments are strong. | |
| A note from the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, to the Parliamentary Labour party, shows the lengths the leadership are going to stress it is not trying to stop Brexit. | |
| The language is directed at the Brexit rebels to try to get them on side. It says the voe “isn’t about stopping Brexit... isn’t about delaying Brexit or tying the hands of negotiators... not about the future of Theresa May or of this government.” | |
| Exc - here’s @Keir_Starmer’s note he sent round Labour MPs last night, language aimed squarely at Labour Brexit rebels - “isn’t about stopping Brexit... isn’t about delaying Brexit or tying the hands of negotiators... not about the future of Theresa May or of this government.” pic.twitter.com/JUE3px16Pt | |
| Jeremy Corbyn is trying to persuade Labour Leavers to vote against the government. | |
| Also worth noting that five Labour MPs - @KevinBarronMP @CarolineFlintMP @RogerGodsiff @FitzMP Denis Skinner - abstained last week. Sounds like Corbyn will have his work cut out. | |
| ITV’s political editor Robert Peston reckons there is a real risk that May could a lose a vote that she could have avoided. | ITV’s political editor Robert Peston reckons there is a real risk that May could a lose a vote that she could have avoided. |
| Writing on Facebook he says: “May could have swallowed the substance of the amendment and emerged unscathed.” | Writing on Facebook he says: “May could have swallowed the substance of the amendment and emerged unscathed.” |
| The Sun’s political editor, Tom Newton Dunn, argues the vote is a dress rehearsal for the more important vote next month on the customs union amendment to the trade bill. | |
| The real significance of today’s showdown is it’s a dress rehearsal for the biggie next month - the customs union amendment to the Trade Bill. Rebels are desperate to show they have the numbers to win that, PM desperate to show they don’t. (2/2) | The real significance of today’s showdown is it’s a dress rehearsal for the biggie next month - the customs union amendment to the Trade Bill. Rebels are desperate to show they have the numbers to win that, PM desperate to show they don’t. (2/2) |
| HuffPost UK’s Paul Waugh says rebel waverers are the ones to watch: | HuffPost UK’s Paul Waugh says rebel waverers are the ones to watch: |
| It’s the rebel waverers that matter most this afternoon, not your Anna Soubrys or Ken Clarkes. And although both May and Corbyn say this is about the national interest, not party interest, it’s how their MPs interpret their conflicting loyalties that will swing the decision today. | It’s the rebel waverers that matter most this afternoon, not your Anna Soubrys or Ken Clarkes. And although both May and Corbyn say this is about the national interest, not party interest, it’s how their MPs interpret their conflicting loyalties that will swing the decision today. |
| Welcome to Politics live as Theresa May faces a knife-edge Commons vote on Brexit as MPs decide on parliament’s role in Britain’s exit from the European Union. | Welcome to Politics live as Theresa May faces a knife-edge Commons vote on Brexit as MPs decide on parliament’s role in Britain’s exit from the European Union. |
| Tory rebels reckon they could inflict a defeat on the government as the EU withdrawal bill returns to the Commons after the Lords again backed giving MPs a “meaningful” say on the final deal. | Tory rebels reckon they could inflict a defeat on the government as the EU withdrawal bill returns to the Commons after the Lords again backed giving MPs a “meaningful” say on the final deal. |
| The debate is expected to start at 1pm according to Labour. | The debate is expected to start at 1pm according to Labour. |
| Public Service announcement: Debate on the #MeaningfulVote is scheduled to last for 90 mins. Provided there are no Statements or UQs, the debate should start around 1pm with the key vote on whether to keep the #Grieve2 #MeaningfulVote Amdt as the first vote at around 2:30pm. | Public Service announcement: Debate on the #MeaningfulVote is scheduled to last for 90 mins. Provided there are no Statements or UQs, the debate should start around 1pm with the key vote on whether to keep the #Grieve2 #MeaningfulVote Amdt as the first vote at around 2:30pm. |
| May staved off a Tory rebellion on the move last week but faces a crucial battle in the latest round of voting amid claims she failed to implement a compromise that opponents believed they were promised. | May staved off a Tory rebellion on the move last week but faces a crucial battle in the latest round of voting amid claims she failed to implement a compromise that opponents believed they were promised. |
| Brexiters are said to be increasingly confident of victory, but rebels are also bullish. | Brexiters are said to be increasingly confident of victory, but rebels are also bullish. |
| Phillip Lee, who resigned as a government minister in order to back a strengthened role for parliament, acknowledged there had been a concerted effort to win over would-be rebels, including the “dark arts” of persuasion in the corridors of power. | Phillip Lee, who resigned as a government minister in order to back a strengthened role for parliament, acknowledged there had been a concerted effort to win over would-be rebels, including the “dark arts” of persuasion in the corridors of power. |
| But he claimed the rebels may have the strength to defeat the prime minister - who he said he still counts as a friend - unless an eleventh-hour concession is agreed. Lee told BBC Radio 4’s Today: | |
| We were always going to get the normal dark arts of Westminster taking place, fully expected, but my understanding is that the position taken by a number of colleagues is solid, which is why the government is still in negotiations. | |
| Asked if there were enough rebels to defeat the government, he said: | |
| Potentially, yes. But ... this for me personally is a position of integrity, that I think Parliament deserves to have a proper role in this process, a truly meaningful vote. | |
| Dominic Grieve, one of the leading figures in the stand-off, said he expected negotiations to “go right to the wire”. | Dominic Grieve, one of the leading figures in the stand-off, said he expected negotiations to “go right to the wire”. |
| Tory Remainer Anna Soubry posted a lengthy statement about why she will rebel and denied being a “traitor”. | Tory Remainer Anna Soubry posted a lengthy statement about why she will rebel and denied being a “traitor”. |
| Bloomin' Brexit - why it's so important to get it right: https://t.co/fifbAdbX5f #MeaningfulVote | Bloomin' Brexit - why it's so important to get it right: https://t.co/fifbAdbX5f #MeaningfulVote |
| The prime minister’s spokesman said the government did not intend to concede ground. | The prime minister’s spokesman said the government did not intend to concede ground. |
| Andrew Sparrow has been delayed coming to work today but should be here within an hour. | Andrew Sparrow has been delayed coming to work today but should be here within an hour. |