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Brexit 'meaningful vote': May wins after rebels accept compromise Brexit 'meaningful vote': May wins after rebels accept compromise
(about 3 hours later)
The attempt to secure a “meaningful vote” that could have potentially given MPs the power to stop Britain leaving the EU without a deal has been defeated. The final obstacle to the EU withdrawal bill was overcome in the Commons on Wednesday when MPs voted against the last outstanding rebel Tory amendment, but only after an eleventh-hour concession on the power of backbenchers to hold the government to account.
The final obstacle to the EU withdrawal bill was removed as MPs voted 303 to 319 against an amendment tabled by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve – before he accepted government reassurances about its respect for the power of MPs to hold it to account. The attempt to secure a “meaningful vote” that could have potentially given MPs the power to stop Britain leaving the EU without a deal was defeated by 316 votes to 303.
At least six Tory rebels – Ken Clarke, Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Antoinette Sandbach and Philip Lee, who resigned last week to vote against the government – held out against the compromise that Labour MPs dismissed as meaningless. Last-ditch horse trading led to the bizarre spectacle of the rebel leader, the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, voting against his own amendment.
But although the prime minister got her bill she has made significant concessions along the way, with her reluctance to confront the rebels head on undermining her authority.
Rather than face down the rebels, she kicked down the road the inevitable parliamentary clash between Tory remainers and Brexiters until crunch votes on the customs union next month.
Leading Brexiters were confident they had the numbers to defeat them and were anxious for a test of strength ahead of key votes on membership of the customs union and single market.
The bill repatriates EU law from Brussels and is a vital precondition to Britain’s exit. It is likely to get royal assent in days.
Angry opposition MPs accused Grieve of compromising his integrity as he argued that a written statement from David Davis, the Brexit secretary, underlining the role of the Speaker and parliament was enough reassurance that MPs would be able to have a voice, if not a meaningful vote, on the final deal.
They believe the government could have been defeated in an amendment that would have obliged ministers to table a motion on a final deal which MPs would be able to change.
Denis Skinner, a fervent Eurosceptic but a long-standing friend and ally of Jeremy Corbyn, helped the whips carry many waverers over the line. But Labour were clearly frustrated at the amendment was defeated.“Tory MPs had a chance to deliver a truly meaningful vote,” a source said. “Labour MPs remained united – including some being taken through the voting lobbies in wheelchairs – but the so-called Tory rebels lost the courage of their convictions and gave licence for a no -eal Brexit.”
Keir Starmer, shadow Brexit secretary, had argued passionately in favour of the amendment that would have given MPs a formal voice in the process.
“This is a disappointing result and comes after Theresa May is forced once again to try to buy off her own MPs at the eleventh hour.”
In the end six Conservatives voted with the opposition in support of the “meaningful vote” amendment – Ken Clarke, Anna Soubry, Antoinette Sandbach, Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston and Phillip Lee, who resigned from the government last week in order to vote against it.
Four Labour MPs voted with the government, against the amendment. They were longstanding Brexiters Frank Field, Kate Hoey, John Mann and Graham Stringer.
Normal pairing arrangements, allowing MPs to be absent, and the power to “nod through” sick MPs were suspended for the vote. Seriously ill MPs and at least two women members who are due to give birth imminently, Jo Swinson and Laura Pidcock, had to wait for a couple of hours in the warm summer afternoon in order to vote in person.
One Labour MP, Naz Shah, was wheeled through the voting lobbies clutching a disposable sick bag. She had been in hospital for several days with severe back pain. A Labour veteran, Paul Flynn, who is seriously ill, also came in to vote.
The Grieve amendment would have ensured that MPs could amend and vote on any government motion if there was no deal on leaving the EU by 21 January next year, with only weeks to go before the formal exit day on 29 March.
It could have given MPs the power to force minsters back into negotiations rather than crashing out without a deal. Brexiters saw it as an attempt to stop Britain leaving the EU.
An unapologetic Grieve said afterwards: “We’ve managed to reach a compromise without breaking the government – and I think some people don’t realise we were getting quite close to that. I completely respect the view of my colleagues who disagree, but if we can compromise we can achieve more.”
Grieve was accused by one angry Labour backbencher of behaving like the Grand old Duke of York. “You can’t keep marching the troops up the hill and down again and keep your integrity,” George Howarth said.Grieve was accused by one angry Labour backbencher of behaving like the Grand old Duke of York. “You can’t keep marching the troops up the hill and down again and keep your integrity,” George Howarth said.
The bill will return to the Lords later on Wednesday and is expected to be on the statute book within days. Technically, MPs can still have a vote on the final deal – or no deal – but unless it is a vote of confidence, the government can ignore it.
After the vote, Grieve said: “We’ve managed to reach a compromise without breaking the government – and I think some people don’t realise we were getting quite close to that. I completely respect the view of my colleagues who disagree, but if we can compromise we can achieve more.” But some MPs, such as Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the cross arty foreign affairs select committee, argue that if the government was heading for a no-deal outcome, it would be in peril automatically.
Amid a welter of procedural technicalities about the powers of MPs and the potential role of the judges, Grieve – who had said he woke up in the small hours worrying that his actions would cause the government’s collapse – withdrew his support for his own amendment.Amid a welter of procedural technicalities about the powers of MPs and the potential role of the judges, Grieve – who had said he woke up in the small hours worrying that his actions would cause the government’s collapse – withdrew his support for his own amendment.
As part of the process, David Davis, the Brexit secretary, tabled a written statement recognising the authority of MPs to hold the government to account, and saying that it would be for the Speaker to decide at the time whether any government motion could be amended. The government proposal would have ruled out amendment altogether. By averting the rebellion rather than facing down the Tory rebels, their support on major issues such as membership of a customs union or the single market remains untested.
Labour protested that the concession was meaningless, and other Tory rebels were unconvinced. A trade bill and a customs bill will be before MPs in the coming weeks, and there are already cross-party amendments backing membership of the customs union. Government business managers will be concerned that the margin of victory in the latest vote was narrow enough for ministers to be concerned about the risk of future defeats.
Sandbach, said the amendment could not bind the government’s hands because negotiations would be over by the time MPs were voting. In the passage of the withdrawal bill, ministers have conceded a meaningful vote on the deal if it is agreed in the autumn, and accepted a timetable of actions if the Commons votes it down.
“Not to have a process in place should negotiations collapse would be irresponsible. And what is more, this amendment will ensure that when the PM sits down to negotiate, she does so with the full backing of parliament. Far from binding the prime minister, it strengthens her hand.” The other significant concession was that there would be no physical infrastructure on the Irish border without parliamentary approval. That gives MPs a veto over the future trading relationship with the EU as it affects northern Ireland.
By averting the rebellion rather than outvoting the Tory rebels, their support on major issues such as membership of a customs union or the single market remains untested.
Brexiters had wanted to see the rebels defeated to strengthen the government’s hand in future debates. Wollaston described the moment as “a battle for the soul of Brexit”.
The rebels had wanted to ensure that MPs had a meaningful vote if there was no deal by 21 January.
But Davis told the house that if the option of no deal was taken off the table, it became more likely. He said whenever MPs challenged the government, the negotiations slowed down.
“When they believe we might be forced to change our position to suit them, they stall. We cannot allow such an approach to become commonplace across all negotiations.”
Rebels, led by the former attorney general Grieve, had argued that MPs were entitled to a say on what should happen if there was no deal with the 27 EU member states with only weeks to go before the formal departure debate on 29 March.
But Grieve said he accepted the prime minister was concerned that it would weaken her hand at the negotiating table if she appeared to be at the mercy of her MPs.
“Having finally obtained, I have to say with a little bit more difficulty than I would have wished, the obvious acknowledgement of the sovereignty of this place over the executive in black and white language I am prepared to accept the government’s difficulty and support it,” he said.
“I am prepared to accept the government’s difficulty and in the circumstances to accept the form of amendment it wants.”
Other rebels had already conceded. Nicky Morgan, another former cabinet minister, tweeted moments before the debate began: “I welcome acknowledgment from the government that House of Commons standing orders mean that it is the Speaker who determines whether a motion is expressed in neutral terms – on this basis parliament’s vote is meaningful – and I will support govt amendment in lieu.”
BrexitBrexit
Dominic GrieveDominic Grieve
ConservativesConservatives
Theresa MayTheresa May
Foreign policyForeign policy
European UnionEuropean Union
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