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Sir Vince Cable's Brexit vote absence 'a bit unfortunate' Lib Dem whip 'messed up' after Cable and Farron miss Brexit vote
(about 5 hours later)
Sir Vince Cable's absence from a crucial Commons vote on Brexit on Monday was a "bit unfortunate", a Liberal Democrat source has said. The Liberal Democrats' chief whip says he "messed up" by allowing party leader Sir Vince Cable and his predecessor Tim Farron to skip Monday night's knife-edge vote on Brexit.
The party leader and his predecessor Tim Farron both missed a vote on the Customs Bill which the government ended up winning by three votes. They could have cut the government's winning margin on the Customs Bill from three votes to just one.
A source said Sir Vince was elsewhere at a confidential political meeting "outside of the parliamentary estate".
Mr Farron said he had "called it wrong" and was sorry for what had happened.Mr Farron said he had "called it wrong" and was sorry for what had happened.
All the party's other MPs voted against the government on amendments to legislation defining the UK's customs arrangements with the EU after it leaves in March 2019. And chief whip Alistair Carmichael said he had expected the vote to be "lost by hundreds".
In a statement tweeted by Sir Vince, Mr Carmichael said the government's winning margin should have been just one.
"By the time it became apparent that the vote was going to be close - it was too late to get two of our MPs, Vince and Tim, back in time to vote," he said.
"I'm taking responsibility and redoubling my efforts to stop Brexit."
A party source described Sir Vince's absence as a "bit unfortunate" and that he was elsewhere at a confidential political meeting "outside of the parliamentary estate".
Mr Farron was booked to give a talk, Illiberal Truths, about the furore over whether he believed gay sex was a sin during the last general election.
He tweeted that the Conservatives "don't deserve any luck".
All the party's other MPs - with the exception of new mum Jo Swinson who was 'paired' with an MP who didn't vote for the other side - cast their ballot against the government on amendments to legislation defining the UK's customs arrangements with the EU after it leaves in March 2019.
The amendments, tabled by Eurosceptic Tory MPs, were accepted by ministers - prompting a backlash by pro-European Tories, 14 of whom ended up voting against the government.The amendments, tabled by Eurosceptic Tory MPs, were accepted by ministers - prompting a backlash by pro-European Tories, 14 of whom ended up voting against the government.
With Labour also voting against, the government scraped home in two votes by a margin of three.With Labour also voting against, the government scraped home in two votes by a margin of three.
The Lib Dem source said Sir Vince's absence was cleared by the party's chief whip, Alistair Carmichael, and the vote was "much closer" than expected, given that Labour MPs had originally been expected to abstain.
"The party has been fighting strongly against Brexit," the source said. "The Lib Dems have been the only major party consistently fighting against Brexit and we will continue to do so."
He said the party hoped to stop Brexit and there were bigger moments to come.
The Lib Dems have been calling for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, with senior figures backing the cross-party People's Vote campaign.The Lib Dems have been calling for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, with senior figures backing the cross-party People's Vote campaign.
Explaining his own "authorised" absence, Mr Farron tweeted that the Conservatives "don't deserve any luck".